Manon Rhéaume (born February 24, 1972) is a Canadian former
ice hockey goaltender. An
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...
ist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first woman to play in exhibition game in any of the
major North American pro-sports leagues.
In 1992, Rhéaume signed a contract with the
Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL, appearing in preseason exhibition games in 1992 and 1993. She spent five years in professional minor leagues, playing for a total of seven teams and appearing in 24 games. She also played on the
Canada women's national ice hockey team
The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada in women's hockey. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and participates in international competitions ...
, winning gold medals at the
IIHF Women's World Championship
The IIHF World Women's Championship (WW or WWC), officially the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, is the premier international tournament in women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The offi ...
in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
and
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
, and the silver medal 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 ...
.
Playing career
Rhéaume, first woman NHL player, played for the Sherbrooke Jofa-Titan squad in the League Régionale du Hockey au Féminin in the province of Québec. She was the first female goaltender to play for a boys' team in the 1984
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament
The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival ...
. Rhéaume was signed to the
Trois-Rivières Draveurs
The Trois-Rivières Draveurs ("Raftmen") were a Canadian junior ice hockey team playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They played home games at the Colisée de Trois-Rivières, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The team was origin ...
in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
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 le ...
, one of Canada's top
junior ice hockey leagues, for the 1991–92 season, becoming the first woman to play in a men's Major Junior hockey game.
In 1992, Rhéaume tried out for the
Tampa Bay Lightning; this was the first time a woman tried out for an NHL team. She played one period in a
preseason game against the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...
, allowing two goals on nine shots, and played in another preseason game against the
Boston Bruins in 1993.
[
Also in 1992, Rhéaume was selected for the ]Canada national women's ice hockey team
The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada in women's hockey. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and participates in international competition ...
. She won gold medals at the 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
and 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
IIHF Women's World Championship
The IIHF World Women's Championship (WW or WWC), officially the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, is the premier international tournament in women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The offi ...
s, and was named to the All-Star team both years. She won the silver medal 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.[
In 1992, Rhéaume was signed by the ]Atlanta Knights
The Atlanta Knights were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (1945–2001), International Hockey League from 1992 to 1996. The Knights were based in Atlanta, and played at the Omni Coliseum. In 1994 the ...
of the International Hockey League (IHL). Her first appearance against the Salt Lake Golden Eagles
The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994.
History
They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...
marked the first time a woman appeared in a regular season professional game. She played for seven different teams between 1992 and 1997, including Atlanta, the Knoxville Cherokees
The Knoxville Cherokees were an East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) team based in Knoxville, Tennessee.
History
The franchise was formed in 1988 along with the ECHL. The team moved to Florence, South Carolina in 1997 and was renamed the Pee Dee Prid ...
, Nashville Knights
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, the Las Vegas Aces, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
The Tallahassee Tiger Sharks were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in Tallahassee, Florida, from 1994 to 2001 as members of the East Coast Hockey League. The Tiger Sharks home rink was the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Cente ...
, Las Vegas Thunder
The Las Vegas Thunder were a professional ice hockey team competing in the International Hockey League. The team's home rink was at the Thomas & Mack Center. They began play in the 1993–1994 season, folding on April 18, 1999. The demise of the ...
, and the Reno Renegades
The Reno Renegades were a short-lived American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Reno, Nevada. The team was a founding member of the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL).
History
The Renegades began play in the 1995–96 season in the ...
, appearing in a total of 24 games.[ While in Atlanta, Rhéaume wrote her autobiography, ''Manon: Alone in Front of the Net''. She initially retired from professional hockey in 1997.][
]
Later life
For the 1999–2000 season, Rhéaume was the goaltending coach of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth at the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. The team is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National Co ...
program. She entered into the business world in 2000, serving as marketing director for Mission Hockey in Irvine, California, developing and promoting girls' hockey equipment for three years. She later worked in marketing at the Powerade Iceport in Milwaukee and with the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...
.[
In October 2008, the IHL's ]Port Huron Icehawks
The Port Huron Icehawks were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Port Huron, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at McMorran Arena from 2007 to 2010.
History
The franchise was an ...
announced plans to have Rhéaume take part in their training camp activities and play for at least one period of the team's exhibition season opener. On April 3, 2009, Rhéaume suited up for one game with the Flint Generals
The Flint Generals were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at Perani Arena and Event Center. The Generals won two league championship ...
IHL team. She had been with the practice team since January, filling in for their regular goalie. Rhéaume is the third woman to play for the Generals.
She played for the Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, ...
in 2009, and helped lead them to the Clarkson Cup
The Clarkson Cup (french: La Coupe Clarkson) is a women's ice hockey trophy, which from 2009 to 2019 was awarded to the winner of the Canadian Women's Hockey Championship (CWHL champion). With the folding of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CW ...
finals. On March 19, the Whitecaps, with Rhéaume in net, beat the Montreal Stars in a playoff game by a score of 4–3 in overtime, with Kim St. Pierre in net for the Stars. During the 2008–09 WWHL season, Rhéaume's Whitecaps took two of three games from the Calgary Oval X-Treme. Those losses snapped a string that saw the X-Treme go two years without tasting defeat in the regular season.
In 2015, she dropped the puck in the ceremonial opening faceoff before the first National Women's Hockey League
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and h ...
game. Rhéaume resides in Michigan and coaches Detroit Little Caesar's under-12 girls hockey team.
In October 2021, Rhéaume was hired by Bally Sports Detroit
Bally Sports Detroit (BSD) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group that operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the state of Michigan, primarily focusing on those in Metro D ...
as an analyst and reporter for the Detroit Red Wings.
She was a goaltender for the 2022 NHL All-Star game's Breakaway Challenge.
Rhéaume was hired in July 2022 as hockey operations and prospect advisor for the Los Angeles Kings.
Media and popular culture
Rhéaume guest-starred as herself in the made-for-TV movie ''A Beachcombers Christmas'' with Tiger Williams
David James "Tiger" Williams (born February 3, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1974–75 NHL season to the 1987–88 NHL season. He is the NHL's career leader in pe ...
and Jyrki Lumme. At the height of her popularity, she was approached to pose for '' Playboy Magazine'', which she refused.[
In 2011, Rhéaume took part in the Quebec TV show ''Le défi des champions'' (Champions' Challenge), a show that trained eight Quebec athletes (such as Isabelle Charest, ]Bruny Surin
Bruny Surin (born July 12, 1967) is a Canadian former track and field athlete, winner of a gold medal in the 4×100 metres relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2008 he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 1996 Summer Ol ...
, Marc Gagnon
Marc Gagnon (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian former short track speed skater. He is a four-time Overall World Champion for 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998, and winner of three Olympic gold medals.
Biography
Born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Gagnon starte ...
, Marie-Andrée Lessard, Étienne Boulay
Étienne Boulay (born March 10, 1983) is a former Canadian football safety. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, with whom he won the 100th Grey Cup championship. He previously played for the Montreal ...
, Nathalie Lambert and Mathieu Dandenault
Mathieu Alexandre Dandenault (born February 3, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL).
He was a member of the 1997, 1998, a ...
) to the art of the circus.
In June 2016, Rhéaume was mentioned in an episode of the show ''Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, and ...
'', (season 11, episode 18), as the only woman to play in an NHL game.
Personal life
Rhéaume was married to Gerry St. Cyr, a roller hockey player and minor league hockey player in June 1998, whom she later divorced. They have one son, Dylan. Dylan St. Cyr, like his mother, is currently a goaltender for the Michigan State Spartans and previously served as goaltender for Notre Dame and Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of ...
. After her divorce from Gerry St. Cyr, she married her second husband, with whom she had a second child, Dakoda. Dakoda was drafted in the 2022 OHL Priority selection by the Sarnia Sting
Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...
124th overall in the 7th round. In 1999, she was hired by Mission Hockey as head of global marketing for women's hockey. One of her projects was helping develop hockey skates for women. Rhéaume formed the Manon Rhéaume Foundation in 2008, which provides scholarships for young women.
Rhéaume is the older sister of former NHL player Pascal Rhéaume.
Career statistics
Career statistics fro
Eliteprospects
o
The Internet Hockey Database
o
The Western Women's Hockey League.
Ice hockey regular season
Ice Hockey International
Roller hockey regular season
Awards and honours
*1992 All-Star Team, Top Goaltender
* 1994 All-Star Team, Top Goaltender
Notables
*First girl to play at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament
The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival ...
.
*First woman to play in a major junior game Trois-Rivières_Draveurs_
The_Trois-Rivières_Draveurs_("Raftmen")_were_a_Canadian_junior_ice_hockey_team_playing_in_the_Quebec_Major_Junior_Hockey_League_(QMJHL)._They_played_home_games_at_the__Colisée_de_Trois-Rivières,_in_Trois-Rivières,_Quebec._The_team_was_origin_...
_(Quebec_Major_Junior_Hockey_League.html" "title="991–92 Trois-Rivières Draveurs
The Trois-Rivières Draveurs ("Raftmen") were a Canadian junior ice hockey team playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They played home games at the Colisée de Trois-Rivières, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The team was origin ...
(Quebec Major Junior Hockey League">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 le ...
)]
*First woman to play in a National Hockey League game, which also made her the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues (September 23, 1992). [1992
]
*First woman to win a game in professional roller hockey
*Played one game with
.
*2000–01 Montreal Wingstar (Forward)
*2007–08 Little Caesars Senior Women's A Hockey Team (Playing as a Forward instead of Goaltender)