The leadership Q&A: Tessa Bonhomme

In Tessa Bonhomme's era, just being a professional hockey player was a sign of leadership.

"These are women who just did it for the love of sport and to continue working and making those small steps towards where we are today," says Ian Kennedy, author of "Ice in Their Veins: Women's Relentless Pursuit of the Puck." "That is, in essence, leadership that can't be overlooked and shouldn't be forgotten."

The success of today's PWHL is largely due to the foundation of women's hockey built by early forerunner leagues, such as the Canadian Women's Hockey League, which Bonhomme played in for five seasons.

"At that time, we weren't seeing the 19,000-person attendance records, but we were still seeing exposure for women in the sport that otherwise wouldn't have been available if these women didn't sacrifice their careers, their day jobs, their weekends, their personal money to play these in these leagues and keep it going," Kennedy says.

Women like Bonhomme who built that foundation are, by definition, trailblazers, even if their stories are less widely known.

"It was really just crucial and kind of a forgotten era because there was no television broadcasting," says Kennedy. "We didn't have major outlets covering every single game. We didn't have dedicated writers or networks that were even validating women's professional hockey as a legitimate sport.

"They really fought against a lot of the stereotypes and stigmas that women didn't have a place in professional hockey. Over time, of course, they've proven those assumptions wrong."

Now Bonhomme is leading the charge on another front: media coverage of women's hockey. After 10 years at TSN, she left to join the PWHL's media arm at the start of this season. She co-hosts the "Jocks in Jills" podcast she founded with Julia Tocheri, another former TSN staffer.

"We really need that visibility, and we really need people talking about the sport consistently and professionally," Kennedy says. "It's really incredible to see someone like Tessa Bonhomme, who has been around and playing in the sport and is so knowledgeable, sharing that continued passion and her expertise with everyday people and connecting with this next generation of hockey players."

Because of her commitment to women's hockey and pioneering approach in both the sport and media, we've selected Bonhomme for our Leaders Survey - a list of questions posed to the men and women who have shaped sports to gain more insight into their personalities and motivations.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

theScore: When in your career were you most fulfilled?

Bonhomme: In hockey, I would have to say, in 2014 when the Toronto Furies won the Clarkson Cup. That was a moment to me in sports that was kind of movie-esque. We were kind of like the Mighty Ducks from the original movie. We were a lot of fourth-liners. We were a grit, grinder team. We worked hard. We made it into the playoffs by one point.

A lot of the players came back from the Olympics and joined the other teams. Only Natalie Spooner came back and joined ours. We were just slowly chipping away one team after another that year. In the gold-medal game, we were looking around the locker room, heading into overtime, and we were kind of laughing, like, can you believe this?

It's a 0-0 hockey game. And one of our leaders that year, Britni Smith, who's now a coach down in the NCAA, she ended up scoring the game-winner. It was very fitting, just considering how much she had done for the game up to that point, what she had done for our team, being one of the leaders. It felt like a really good, wholesome win, where everybody bought into their roles, and it was super fun. It didn't feel stressful ever.

I was really proud and happy for every single player. It differed from the Olympics because, in a sense, we were expected to win the Olympics. We worked our tails off for that medal, but the expectations were there. But this one felt like the world was against us and we pulled through. That's when I was most fulfilled in my hockey world.

In my professional world, I would have to say, recently, just this past year, making the switch from TSN to joining the PWHL and trying my hand at offering good coverage. Family life and work balance kind of came into play in that decision, and my passion for the PWHL, my love for the game, and my respect for the work that these ladies put forth to give us the best product on the ice that we can have.

I just want to do my best to help try and promote and let everyone else see just how great they are. Those of us who have friends in the league, we're privy to that information. And I feel like it's the least I could do to help shine a light on some of the greats that are in the game right now.

TSN gave me the opportunity to cover a ton of different sports at every level, at the highest level - the World Juniors, the Women's World Hockey Championships, the Olympics, NHL, SportsCenter. I feel like I checked a ton of boxes, and the only thing that was left was covering a professional women's team. The PWHL offered me that opportunity, and it would have been silly for me to pass that one by.

What are you best known for?

Depends who you talk to. For a lot of people, it's the show "Shoresy."

But I would have to say, it was probably the moment in 2010 with the shutter shades on and the cigar and the beer in hand. I don't think that will ever leave me or my resume. I would say that is what I am most known for, is doing that. But I would like to change it to being most known for the "Jocks in Jills" podcast. We're working on that.

What do you value most in a teammate?

A positive attitude. I call it a pet approach, where it doesn't matter what kind of day you're having, what you look like, your pet is always excited to see you, happy for you, and just wants to share love and make the day better. I like teammates like that. High-stress situations call for some ugly moments sometimes, but when you have a good teammate, they see the silver lining, and they understand that sometimes there's a bigger purpose to a game beyond just the wins and the losses.

Describe your mindset currently.

In this exact moment: controlled chaos. My kids slept in this morning. We had a late night, so this morning was a runaround. But in all honesty, other than that, just zen. Yes ... this is the complete opposite. But I feel like my mindset is at this state where, I'm turning 40 this year, I'm doing what I love and what I'm passionate about. What a gift that is.

What was your best hockey road trip?

The second anyone mentions hockey road trips to any player, everybody immediately goes back to their youth days when they played mini-sticks in the hallway for hours. You would go play a game, and then you would come back to the hotel, and you'd play mini-sticks. Then you would eat dinner and go play hockey. Then you'd come back and you'd be in the pool for hours. It's that moment where hockey wasn't serious enough - we were all together having fun. Playing three games a day? That's fine. You want to go in the pool? Go ahead. I think those were the best.

I can't pick just one for my childhood because it was literally a recurring weekend for like four months every season with my parents and all my friends. It's crazy because I don't even see kids play mini-sticks very much in hotels anymore. I don't know if hotels got rid of it, but if they did, shame on them. That's core memory stuff that lasts a lifetime.

What do you think is an underrated quality in players today?

The ability to handle adversity. There's going to be a lot of things in players' careers that don't go their way, and it's very easy to play the "woe me" card.

But for someone who can, even in a game, understand there will be penalties called against you or a blooper goal going against your 'tender. It's easy to hang your head and throw in the towel. But players who can not only turn that moment around but also bring their teammates and players up with them, I think that is an underrated quality.

What would you consider the most overrated aspect of hockey today?

I think sometimes we use statistics too much, as opposed to just watching the game and analyzing it ourselves. That said, I do appreciate statisticians out there because I use a lot of their stuff.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Raising two healthy kids to almost five, then have everyone be happy and full bellies and smiles on their faces, for sure.

What's the most important quality in a winning team?

The ability to buy in and know your role wholeheartedly and not fake it. That's it.

What's your most treasured memorabilia from your career?

Probably those shutter shades ... I've got boxes and boxes and stuff, but like, that's the one piece that stays out, I guess because people constantly want to see them.

What's the last good book you read?

"Riding for Freedom" by Eurico Rosa da Silva (the seven-time Sovereign Award winner as best jockey in Canada). It's a wicked book. This guy's life is insane. I randomly ran into this guy in the NHL alumni offices. He was looking for my buddy. And I was like, "You look like a jockey." He was like, "I am." Then he handed me a book. I didn't realize what his life was until I read it. Now I'm like, "I want to spend more time with that man."

What's your motto?

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? I got that from my friend Jen Botterill.

That actually has a lot to do with every decision that I make. Because everyone always weighs in the failure aspect of it, and it lets the fear scare them out of what they should be doing as opposed to what feels right and good in the moment.

Jolene Latimer is a feature writer at theScore.