CANTLON: RHEAUME, THE FIRST NHL FEMALE PLAYER, HONORED 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, HOWLINGS

QUEBEC CITY, CANADA – In Quebec City last week, Manon Rhéaume was honored on Jean Beliveau Lane with a statue and former Hartford Whaler, Sylvain Côté, also a city native as well.

Several other statues of Nordiques grace the area. Peter Stastny (a current EU minister) and his brothers Marian and Anton Stastny, whose homeland was part of the Warsaw Pact. They are now two separate countries, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. All three made a harrowing defection to The West and were loved in Quebec City. There is also a statue of Joe Malone, an early Montreal Canadiens star who won the Stanley Cup there in the first year of the NHL.

Malone, from Quebec City, was with the Quebec City Bulldogs (NHA) early in the 20th century (1908-1917) before the NHL and one year into the NHL with the Bulldogs.

Malone was an NHL great from the league’s founding. He played four years in Montreal and two in Hamilton.

Canadiens Legend, Beliveau, is another native from nearby Trois-Rivieres.

Rhéaume played for the current two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in an NHL exhibition game on September 23, 1992. She played the first period against the St. Louis Blues in a 6-3 win; she stopped seven of the nine shots she faced.

MORE ON RHEAUME

The Beauport, Quebec-born netminder, started her journey playing for the Charlesbourg, Quebec team at the famous Quebec International Pee-Wee tournament at the famous Le Colisee (Colisée de Québec) at ten years of age.

Her father, Pierre, the local hockey coach, pushed her by saying it was macrame or hockey, which infuriated her according to a recent NHL.com story, and her mother, Nicole, had different thoughts. She didn’t want her playing against the boys.

Rhéaume blazed the trail and stood out at a time when girls playing boy’s hockey was a novelty.

Her first foray in game action was with nearby Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL). Rhéaume took a shot off the head from future NHL’er Philippe Boucher, now a GM with the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL).

Rhéaume’s younger brother, Pascal, played a year later in Trois-Rivieres. Pascal is an ex-Hartford Wolf Pack and an assistant coach with the brand new Trois-Rivieres Lions (ECHL), who start playing next month. Pascal’s son Nicholas plays with the Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL) and is a UMASS-Lowell (HE) commit next year.

RHEAUME’S CAREER

Rhéaume had a five-year minor pro career. She started with the Atlanta Knights (IHL), then Tampa Bay’s farm team, then the Las Vegas Thunder (IHL); she was coached by ex-New Haven Nighthawk Chris McSorley. She had the team’s best GAA at 5.65!

Rhéaume met her husband, former New Haven Senator and Thunder, Gerry St. Cyr, with the Reno (NV) Renegades (WCHL). She had three ECHL stints with the Tallahassee (FL) Tiger Sharks, and the Nashville (TN) Knights before the Predators played, and the Knoxville (TN) Cherokees. Among her teammates was Jack Duffy (Yale/North Branford) in his first pro year. Also on the roster was ex-New Haven Nighthawk player Scott Gordon, an AHL veteran head coach with the Providence Bruins and Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Last season, Gordon earned his 400th win as a coach. He had two NHL stints as head coach with the New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Rhéaume played for Canada internationally twice. The first was in the Women’s World Championship in 1992 and 1993. There she won Gold Medals both times. In the 1998 Nagano, Japan Games, she also won Olympic Silver, the first time Olympic Women’s hockey was held.

CATCHING UP WITH RHEAUME

Rhéaume is a mom who lives in the greater Detroit area. She is a head coach for a girl’s U12 team. Her son is also a goaltender. Dylan St. Cyr of Quinnipiac University (ECACHL), a new grad transfer from Notre Dame (Big 10).

After having served as an Assistant Coach, she has been named a head coach in the famous Little Caesars program.

Rhéaume also finds time to work with French-language TV in Quebec for RDS on NHL games.

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