I find that I've tried to become a better hockey player every year and not just hold on. At the same time, I've also made it a point to increase or grow in some other area of my life. If I were just playing hockey, I would probably be done with the sport.

That's the awesome part. Little girls now have a chance to look up and see women playing soccer, basketball, softball and now hockey - and know they can win a gold medal, too.

I still love hockey. It's just I'm at a different stage of my life and I think I'm just ready to grow in other ways outside of just being a hockey player.

But inside of me I knew that the Olympics were still there. I was still young enough. I knew that once I transitioned out of hockey, it would be really hard to go back.

There were no women's players I knew of. I didn't even know women's hockey existed.

It feels right. But it's emotional. Saying goodbye to anything you've done that long is hard.

The more I've done work with the IOC the more I've come to realize I'm really excited about this, the work that I'm doing and the impact that I can have if I'm fully committed to it.