Small is a three time Olympian, acting as a third goaltender on the Canadian women's hockey team at Turin and Nagano.
CWHL
Small was a goaltender for the Mississauga Chiefs of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. After the CWHL contracted in 2010, she was claimed by the Toronto Furies. With Toronto, Small participated in the championship game of the 2011 Clarkson Cup. Despite losing to the Montreal Stars by a 5-0 tally, Small accumulated 46 saves in the championship. On February 9, 2014, a victory against the defending Clarkson Cup champion Boston Blades provided Furies goaltender Sami Jo Small with the 60 victory of her career. Of note, she becomes the first CWHL goaltender to reach the 60 wins plateau. In that same season, Small would win the 2014 Clarkson Cup, making her the third women's ice hockey goaltender to have won Winter Games gold, IIHF gold and the Clarkson.
Management
During the inaugural CWHL season, Sami Jo Small served in the role of vice-chair for the league. On June 11, 2018, Small was named General Manager of the Toronto Furies. One of her first moves in this capacity was signing Courtney Birchard as their new head coach, while naming long-time coach Ken Dufton as an advisor to the organization. Among the free agents signed by Small included goaltender Elaine Chuli and forward Shiann Darkangelo to contracts in August 2018.
Personal
Sami Jo Small is the current Vice-Chairman and one of the founders of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Small is a graduate of Collège Jeanne-Sauvé and attended Stanford University on a track and field scholarship to throw the discus and javelin where she also played on the men's club hockey team. At the 1997 Pacific-10 Track and Field championships,, Small finished in fifth place in the Hammer Throw with a distance of 161.5 feet. In the discus throw, Small was seventh with a distance of 158.8 feet. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering - Product Design. She is involved with Right to Play and has been an Athlete Ambassador since 2006 Small is married to Billy Bridges, who played forward on the Canadian sledge hockey team for the 2010 Paralympic Games.
