Two-mom couple and former pro hockey players Madison and Anya Packer’s new podcast looks at “everything from professional women’s athletes, to sports, to raising children, and all the messiness in between.” If you have an interest in any of the above, give it a listen!
Madison retired last year after one season with the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s (PWHL’s) New York Sirens. She previously played collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin, and spent eight seasons with the New York Riveters (later the Metropolitan Riveters) of the National Women’s Hockey League (later the Premier Hockey Federation) in its inaugural season, where she was captain and a four-time all-star.
Anya played collegiate hockey at Boston University, then joined the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. Later, she became one of the founding members of the NWHL/PHF, playing three seasons with the Connecticut Whale. She then stepped away from playing to give birth to the couple’s two children, then came back to the sport as general manager for the Metropolitan Riveters and executive director of the Players Association. There, she earned a Forbes 30 Under 30 award as a leading voice in the fight for better working conditions, pay, and recognition for women’s hockey players.
The couple now have two toddlers. On their podcast, “These Packs Puck,” they share their experiences with the joys, stresses, and chaos of parenthood, and they and their guests look at topics like raising kind kids, mental health in sports and parenting, chosen family, and more.
In the first episode, the Packers introduce themselves, talk about becoming parents via IUI (intrauterine insemination), Anya’s two pregnancies and multiple miscarriages, and how they now support each other and their kids (including while Anya was solo parenting and Madison was preparing for the PWHL season).
The second episode brings in guest and hockey star Meghan Duggan, three-time Olympic medalist (including one gold), and director of player development for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, who was also Madison’s team captain at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Meghan now has three children with her spouse Gillian Apps. The women talk about navigating parenting with young kids; raising kids who are kind, respectful, and inclusive in the face of a world that often isn’t; being the birthing or non-birthing parent; and much more.
Subsequent episodes include NWSL soccer star and queer mom Ashlyn Harris, Peloton instructor and fitness coach and mom Kirsten Ferguson, and PWHL star and mom Natalie Spooner, among others. Most recently, they spoke with with Meg LeFauvre and Kelsey Mann, co-writer and director, respectively, of the Pixar film Inside Out 2. The protagonist is a young girl hockey player, and the Packers and their guests discuss the film’s impact and its accuracy both in the depiction of hockey and of tween’s emotions.
While some of what the podcast covers is specific to queer parents, much is also applicable to parents of any identity. Similarly, the Packers and their guests give us a look behind the curtain at what it’s like to be a professional athlete in women’s sports, but also offer useful insights and advice for working parents in any field. The vibe is chatty, conversational, and relatable.
As a former collegiate fencer who has done serious stints of several other sports as well (though not professionally), and an avid fan of the PWHL, WNBA, NWSL, and women’s sports generally, I love the intersection of topics that the podcast covers, and am betting that many readers here will, too. Give “These Packs Puck” a try below or on your favorite podcast app. I’ve quickly made it a regular listen in mine.
“These Packs Puck” will join iHeartMedia’s Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN), the first-ever audio platform dedicated exclusively to women’s sports. Check out some of their other podcasts, and catch “These Packs Puck” guest Ashlyn Harris’s own brand-new “Wide Open with Ashlyn Harris” podcast.
