Danièle Sauvageau, (born April 22, 1962) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

executive and former coach, and former police officer. Sauvageau was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the Canadian national women's hockey team that won the gold medal in

ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics Hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics was held at the E Center in West Valley City and Peaks Ice Arena in Provo, Utah. The men's and women's tournaments were won by Canada, who defeated the host United States in both finals. Medal summary Med ...

Early life

Originally from

Deux-Montagnes, Quebec Deux-Montagnes is a suburban municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the north shore of the Rivière des Mille Îles where it flows out of Lake of Two Mountains (''Lac des Deux Montagnes''). It is part of the Deux-Montagnes Regional Coun ...

, Sauvageau was a member of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

and the

Service de police de la Ville de Montréal The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM; ) is the municipal police agency for the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the neighbouring communities in the urban agglomeration of Montreal. With over 4,500 officers and more than 1,300 ...

for 33 years, serving 10 years in the narcotics division. As a Police Sergeant, she has also performed undercover narcotics investigations, busted a squad car full of drug dealers, and even ordered a forced entry and rescue of a double agent whose life was in jeopardy. She spend more a decade serving strategic division. President and chief executive officer of the "Montreal Police and Fire Games 2017"

Hockey

Sauvageau was the head coach for the Ferland Quatre Glaces (first based out of Brossard, and then Repentigny) team in the League Régionale du Hockey au Féminin in the province of Québec. When the Canadian Under-19 women's hockey team was founded on May 15, 1996, Danielle Sauvageau was the head coach. Two future Olympians played for her:

Caroline Ouellette Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a member ...

and speed skater

Cindy Klassen Cindy Klassen, (born August 12, 1979) is a Canadians, Canadian retired long track speed skater. She is a six-time medallist having achieved one gold, two silver, three bronze at the Winter Olympics. She is the only Canadian Olympian to win five ...

. Sauvageau was named head coach of Canada's National Women's Hockey Team for the 2001 World Hockey Championship and the 2002 Winter Olympics on June 22, 2000. As head coach of the first Canadian Olympic hockey team to win gold in 50 years, Sauvageau became a Canadian hero. Sauvageau has worked at almost every level of hockey open to female coaches. After the disappointing silver medal showing at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

in Nagano, Sauvageau was named the new head coach of the team and general manager of the Canadian female hockey program. Following eight straight losses to the U.S. team prior to the Olympics, her team-building methods and leadership skills led the team to a gold medal in 2002. In 1999–2000, she became an assistant coach for the

Montreal Rocket The Montreal Rocket were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for four seasons from 1999 to 2003, based out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team was named in honour of Montreal Canadiens great Maurice "Rocket" Richar ...

of the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

. She was the first female coach in QMJHL history. Sauvageau was the first female NHL Saturday Night Hockey TV analyst for Canada's French station Télévision de Radio-Canada and is the new official spokesperson for the Coaching Association of Canada. She was a member of the successful bid committee for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic bid. As part of the IIHF Ambassador and Mentor Program, Sauvageau was a Hockey Canada coaching mentor that travelled to Bratislava, Slovakia to participate in the 2011 IIHF High Performance Women's Camp from July 4 to 12. As of 2010, she was the general manager of the

Montreal Carabins women's ice hockey The Montreal Carabins women's ice hockey team defend the colors of the Université de Montréal and are members of the Quebec Student Sports Federation (RSEQ), and compete for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's ice hockey championship. One ...

program. In 2021, she also served as general manager and coach of the Montreal team in the

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian W ...

Education

She is a graduate of the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

and of the

RCMP Academy, Depot Division RCMP Academy, Depot Division (commonly known as "Depot", not ) is the police training academy for Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) "cadets." Providing training since its establishment in 1885, the facility is located in the west part of Regi ...

. She was a sergeant in the

(City of Montreal Police Service).

Awards and honours

*Sauvageau received an Honorary

Doctorate of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

(DCL) from Saint Mary's University (Halifax. N.S.) in October 2002 for her leadership in international athletics *In 2004, she was awarded the

Meritorious Service Cross The Meritorious Service Cross (french: Croix du service méritoire) is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, his or her Governor-in-Council. Cr ...

(civil division). *In 2008, Sauvageau was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Canad ...

. *She was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

(OC) as per Canada Gazette of 6 July 2013. *2021 Hockey Canada Female Breakthrough Award

CAN Meritorious Service Cross (civil division) ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauvageau, Daniele Living people 1962 births Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian women police officers French Quebecers Montreal Rocket coaches People from Laurentides Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration Université de Montréal alumni Officers of the Order of Canada