What Noora Raty's retirement means for women's hockey

She entered the Olympics at the age of 16 in Torino. Finland would lean on Noora Raty as she shutout the Swiss National Team 4-0. Finland would finish in fourth place. The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver would be the most successful for the Finnish National Team, thanks in large part to Raty. A bronze medal would be her first and last.

On Saturday, Finland's best female goaltender let it slip to Finnish media that she would be retiring. It came as a shock to many who believed Raty, at the age of 24, would see at least two more Winter Olympic Games with the Finnish National Team.

Competition. It's what Raty wants most. She knows she won't be challenged in the only professional women's league in Russia. The men's league is where she wants to play; if she's not challenged, she can't enjoy her time as a goaltender.

If Raty is to come out of retirement, it will be to play in a North American women's league. She called on the USA and Canada to step up to the plate in her statement Saturday, "I don't feel that women's hockey can grow or get any better in the future if the USA or Canada don't get a professional league started soon. That is the next critical step that our sport needs to take."

A setback for women's hockey

With the retirement, Raty has left Finland in a difficult spot. She was the one up and coming goaltender blazing a path for European contenders in the Olympic games. She was the one lifting Finland out from the bottom of the standings -- other teams saw her performance and followed suit.

Sweden has medaled at the Olympics before, but the up and down of gold and silver between the United States and Canada has been dominating the airwaves in North America. The big games are the games shown to most nations, and Canada and the USA find themselves in every one of them.

Raty was helping to change the culture of women's hockey at the Olympics; the one hope that Finland would become an elite team up there with Canada and the USA. Her retirement is a huge blow to not only Finland but for women's hockey in general.

The harsh reality of making a living

Raty needed to retire. Between working full-time at a goaltending school and competing with the Finnish National Team, there was no time for rest. She wrote in her letter to women's hockey fans she was burnt out. "... what did I do if I felt like I needed to get some extra rest? Skipped a workout/practice because I can't skip work."

Making a living from playing women's hockey was not feasable for Raty anymore. She took her career as far as she could; that's all you can ask of a 24-year-old. 

"I have to choose a work career. Why? Because who would then pay my rent, car loan and insurance, and other bills? I'm 24-years-old, out of college, single, and the money doesn't grow in trees..." Raty wrote. 

The problem with a women's league

The unfortunate reality of women's leagues are they can't hold a candle to the men's. The WNBA and WPGA are where women display immense amounts of talent on tour. They don't get the recognition they deserve because there are well-established men's leagues with television deals and large sponsorships. 

It's hard to compete with a juggernaut leage with decades of history, generations of fans.

Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser knows the risks of rushing into a women's league in North America. It could fold. It could take a tremendous amount of money and energy to create an unsuccessful league. 

Wickenheiser knows business rules everything, a women's league isn't just something you can dive into.

"I think 10 years is for sure feasible. There’s a group of people who for many years now have been talking and trying to expand on the idea. I think it comes down to: is the product ready and can the game make money? It’s a business at the end of the day. And if you don’t have TV and corporate sponsorship how can you make a product out of that? So there are a lot of moving parts to it but I think the discussion is happening and that’s a good start." Quote via Jordana Divon

The Canadian Women's Hockey League isn't what Raty considers a women's league; she wants the NHL for women. That's going to take significant time, especially since the game has only been on the world's radar since the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games.

Raty leaving the game so she can make a living is a sad state for the future of women's hockey. Many women face the same decision. If this continues, the Olympic event will crumble and a women's league will be a long lost thought.