NWHL Goaltender Jenny Scrivens, Wife of NHL Netminder Ben Scrivens, Announces Her Retirement From Professional Hockey
I’m sure everyone was shocked when NWHL goaltender Jenny Scrivens, who was playing for the New York Riveters, announced her retirement after just one season (the first ever season of the NWHL).
Although it is understandable, and she has a reasonable reason (not that she needs one), but the news is shocking. For those of you who don’t know, Jenny Scrivens is the wife of the Edmonton Oilers/Bakersfield Condors’ goaltender Ben Scrivens.
Ben and Jenny met their freshman year at Cornell University, both playing for their respective hockey teams. They have been together for 10 years, and married for four of those years.
Union and Blue
What started out as a public relations job for the newly formed NWHL, turned into a goaltending opportunity for Jenny.
After their college careers, Jenny and Ben had a mutual decision that they were going to see where his hockey career took him, and if he had the chance to play professional hockey, they were going to go where ever that was.
After much thought, and talking it through with Ben, they decided the job opportunity for Jenny was too good to pass up. So, after 6 years of a semi-career break (for Jenny), she put on her goaltending gear and laced up her skates as a New York Riveter in Brooklyn.
“I didn’t really have anything holding me back from being able to move to Brooklyn, and take this sort of risk,” said Scrivens. “Yes, in the long run, I had to give up a lot to move. I didn’t get to see Ben nearly as much as I wanted to, but those are things that are sort of short-term pains for the long-term gain of being able to play professional hockey at this stage.” -Jenny Scrivens
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Despite having a stellar showing in the playoffs against the eventual Isobel Cup champion Boston Pride, and being offered another contract to play by the Riveters, NWHL goaltender Jenny Scrivens has made the decision to retire.
While she was away, Ben was going through the roughest time in his career. Jenny was not there to support him the way she would have liked; between practices, games and working in the public relations part of the league, it weighed heavily on her.
Weighing her options on if she should sign a new contract for the Riveters or retire, she said it shouldn’t be dependent on other people commenting or asking me questions such as, “Don’t you feel bad?” or “Shouldn’t you be there for your husband?”
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Jenny doesn’t like to use the words wife or girlfriend when talking about the players spouses.
As she puts it, “We need to change the way we talk about athletes’ partners and spouses if we’re truly going to create change and acceptance in sports.
Stop saying ‘hockey wives’ and stop saying ‘WAGS,’ because one day there’s going to be a man in the “wives room” and I’d be ashamed if we’re not prepared for it.”
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Along with leaving her pro career behind, Jenny also is leaving her public relations position for the league. Ben and Jenny want to start a family, and as Ben heads to unrestricted free agency, they weigh that into the decision.
“I think it’s important to have these conversations and to not be afraid to have them publicly. I don’t want mislead people to think it’s easy trying to find the right balance, but I also want to encourage other women to follow their dreams and find the right role for them.” -Jenny Scrivens on women in the workforce
I wish Jenny and Ben the best, and I hope wherever he ends up playing next season, that he can bounce back and have a great season.