Ellen Weinberg-Hughes

Ellen Weinberg-Hughes (; born July 8, 1969) is an American former ice hockey player. She competed internationally for the US women's national team at the 1992 Women's World Championship, capturing a silver medal while being named to the tournament's all-star team. She played collegiate hockey, lacrosse and soccer for the University of New Hampshire. She was inducted into the UNH Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. After her playing career was over, she served as an assistant coach at UNH for the soccer and ice hockey teams, while attending graduate school. She also served as an advisor to Norway's women's hockey team in 1994.

Early life Weinberg-Hughes was born on July 8, 1969, in St. Louis, Missouri, and was raised in Dallas, Texas. who was a pediatric neurologist, faculty member, and medical researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Her brother is sociologist Adam S. Weinberg, the president of Denison University. Her family is Jewish.

Weinberg-Hughes stated that due to there being no girls teams in the Dallas area she began playing ice hockey with the boys teams, and told a local TV station at 12-years-old her goal was to become a professional hockey player. In 1984, Weinberg-Hughes competed and won an international tournament with her high school club soccer team, the Dallas Stings in Xi'an, China. During her time with the Stings, she played with Carla Overbeck and Mia Hamm and roomed with Brandi Chastain.

Athletic and professional career

Collegiate career While recruited to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) for soccer, Weinberg-Hughes competed in three sports (ice hockey, soccer, and lacrosse) during her collegiate career. She was a UNH Athlete of the Year finalist in 1991, and was inducted into the University of New Hampshire Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

Weinberg-Hughes was unable to compete during the 1988-1989 academic year due to an injury. During this redshirt year, she did a broadcast internship.

Weinberg-Hughes played defense, and was noted to be a smooth skater and good passer. Team USA captured a silver medal at the tournament, and Weinberg-Hughes was one of the six players named to the tournament all-star team at its conclusion. The other named players were Cammi Granato (United States), Angela James (Canada), Geraldine Heaney (Canada), Riika Sallinen (Finland), and Manon Rheaume (Canada).

Ambassador for women's hockey Three months after the world championship, the IOC announced that women's hockey would be included for the first time in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, rather than the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway as many players had hoped. Due to her success in the 1992 Women's World Championship, Weinberg-Hughes was asked to serve in this advising role. Notably, the US Women's Ice Hockey national team has medalled at every single Olympics since the sport was first included in 1998, and Weinberg-Hughes also helped the team win their 3rd Olympic gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Amid backlash regarding President Trump's comments about the US Olympic women's hockey team and the responses from the US Olympic men's team, Weinberg-Hughes spoke out stating that the backlash was nonsense as both teams shared camaraderie and synergy with the women's team cheering on the men's and vice versa.

Broadcasting career After her playing career ended in 1996, Weinberg-Hughes worked for ESPN, where she reported on soccer and hockey. In this job, she travelled to the 1998 Winter Olympics to report on the women's olympic hockey team, who won gold, and attended the 1999 Women's World Cup. Her children were all born in the U.S., due to Weinberg-Hughes' husband's work, but they were largely raised in Mississauga, Ontario.