7 minute read
UNH's Breakout Sports Star
She is now known as the Queen of American Hockey, but once upon a time Ellen Weinberg-Hughes held court in the town of Durham
BY LYNNE SNIERSON
Then known as Ellen Weinberg, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes grew up in Dallas as a two-sport star playing soccer on a team that was one of the best in the country. While doing so, she was also competing on the boys’ ice hockey squad because of her talent and tenaciousness, coupled with the lack of opportunity for girls.
Heavily recruited by colleges around the country to play soccer, she chose the University of New Hampshire and arrived on campus in the fall of 1986.
“In those days there were only about 35 programs in the country that were offering scholarships for women’s soccer. Back then, UNH’s program was ranked in the top 20 in the United States, and it was the first year of offering women’s scholarships,” she recalls.
She aspired to also play ice hockey in college and felt that UNH afforded the best opportunity, but there was no guarantee she would make the team that was a powerhouse under legendary former head coach Russ McCurdy.
“He offered to give me a chance. He said when you’re done with your soccer season after Thanksgiving, come out to the rink and I’ll give you a full week to get up to speed, because this will be the only way to be fair because the other women have been here skating since September. On my first day after I got off the ice, Coach McCurdy said, ‘What size skates do you need? You’re on the team,’” she says.
But wait. There’s more. Though she had never played lacrosse, once her hockey season was over, she made that varsity team as well.
“We went to the Final Four that year. We lost in the semi-finals. The year before they won the national championship (1985), and nobody ever thinks of UNH as having won the women’s lacrosse national championship,” she says.
Weinberg-Hughes not only excelled in all three sports, but she also captained the soccer and hockey teams. During a redshirt season recovering from injury, she did a broadcast internship and gained experience that would later prove invaluable.
After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 1990 and with her college athletic ability completed, she remained at UNH to pursue her master’s degree while serving as a graduate assistant coach for both the women’s soccer and hockey teams.
At that time, it was hoped that women’s ice hockey would become an Olympic sport in 1994, though inclusion in the Winter Games would be delayed until 1998. Weinberg-Hughes made the National U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and played in the 1992 World Championship, winning a silver medal while being named to the tournament All-Star Team.
Once her playing days were done, she went into broadcasting, working for ESPN covering Women’s World Cup soccer and the 1998 Women’s Olympic Hockey Team, which won gold. She married Jim Hughes, the former Providence College men’s ice hockey standout and a well-respected coach and executive with National Hockey League teams, including the Boston Bruins.
Ellen and Jim are parents to Quinn, Jack and Luke, who inherited quite a legacy.
Quinn, 24, is the first American born captain of the Vancouver Canucks. Jack, 22, is captain of the New Jersey Devils. Luke, 20, also plays for the Devils. Quinn and Jack are All-Stars, and at press time Luke was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy awarded to the league’s top rookie.
Amazingly, all three are NHL first round draft picks and Jack was the overall No. 1 selection in 2019. Even more remarkable, they are the only American family to have three brothers selected in the first round, so they are known as the Royal Family of American Hockey. Ellen is considered the queen.
“We don’t see ourselves that way. We are very humble,” she says. “We know of all the great American families who came before us. We look at all the great American players who have put USA Hockey and American players on the map. There are so many whom we look up to. We’re just reaping the benefit of all the people who came before us. Both my husband and I came through and are a byproduct of USA Hockey. We have three young sons who are passionate about the game and are looking to have long, sustainable careers like the American players in the American families who came before them.”
Ellen was enshrined in the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame, is a 2024 inductee into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and she sits on the board of USA Hockey Foundation. She is also the development consultant to the Women’s National Team.
“I give UNH so much gratitude and so much credit. They were so far ahead of their time and in the forefront of the women’s sports movement,” she says. “To think about how many Division 1 programs there are across the country for women athletes now. I think it’s above 350. It’s a school like UNH that forced the hand of others. UNH will always hold a special place in my heart. I think it’s an incredible hidden gem. My best and dearest friends today are still UNH Wildcats. I get together every year with them. They’re my Wildcat teammates and my dormmates from Sawyer Hall in my freshman year.”
UNH Director of Athletics Allison Rich says, “Ellen was an amazing, three-sport student-athlete at UNH, epitomizing the greatest attributes of our Wildcats. She made the most of her time here, earning induction into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame. Ellen remains very engaged with and gives back to her alma mater. She is a true Wildcat for Life. We are proud of her accomplishments, happy for her family’s continued success in the NHL, and thrilled to know she looks back so fondly on her time at UNH.”
Her reputation as a trailblazer and her influence as a role model reach far beyond New Hampshire.
“It’s fun to see where the world of sports has gone for women. I’m super proud of that,” Weinberg-Hughes says. “There were a lot of women before me who were incredible athletes, but they never had the opportunity to put on a USA jersey for hockey. I was very fortunate to be able to do that.”
The Family Monarchy
During their incredible journey, the Weinberg-Hughes family spent three years in Manchester while Jim was an assistant coach and an executive with the American Hockey League Manchester Monarchs and Ellen was raising their three young sons.
“Ellen and Jim were a wonderful part of the Monarchs family,” recalls Jeff Eisenberg, who launched the Monarchs and is CEO and president of EVR Advertising. “Ellen was a presence. I was always struck by her. She’s smart, committed and personable. She’s a unique and quality individual.
“The kids grew up to be amazing NHL athletes. They are all unbelievable, but Ellen and Jim put them in a position to be successful. It takes a dynamic duo to pull this off. They were so involved,” he says. “It does not surprise me at all that Ellen completed the circle on this whole family, and that’s something that would not have happened without her.”
Eisenberg says he watches their games and roots for all three, “Absolutely. It’s a really cool story, and it’s cool to be connected to it in any way.”
