If Margaret Thatcher played hockey: left wing, rated 76

Margaret Thatcher as a hockey player: scouting report

Margaret Thatcher would play left wing, and she would hold the wall like no one else in the league. A grocer's daughter from Grantham, she studied chemistry at Oxford, qualified as a barrister and became the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, holding the office from 1979 to 1990. The nickname that followed her everywhere was the Iron Lady, and physical play is the best thing on her card: when a defenseman tries to pin her along the boards, she does not budge.

Her defense is nearly as strong. She was famous for her stamina and for needing very little sleep, reportedly working late into the night on her papers, and that relentless preparation fits a winger who always knows her assignment in the defensive zone. Her passing is the best of her remaining skills, so once she wins the puck she makes a sensible play rather than throwing it away. A chemist's training shows up as precision: no wasted movements, no lazy stick work.

Skating is the clear weak spot. She will not win races to loose pucks in open ice, so she belongs on a checking line that starts in the offensive zone and grinds the opponent down. Defenseman is a strong second spot, with goalie just behind. Pair her with a quick, creative center who can carry the puck through the neutral zone and a right winger with a good shot, then send her out against the other side's top line. Few wingers are tougher to play against.

Plays like An unyielding defensive winger who never gives up the wall

Put Margaret Thatcher in your lineup

8 rolls, a starting six and a bench, 82 games. Can you go 82-0? Free, no account.