Manon Rheaume is carrying over her trailblazing women鈥檚 hockey career into a front office role in being hired as the general manager of the , the league announced on Friday.
The Canadian Olympian goaltender, and first woman to appear in an exhibition game of any of North America鈥檚 four major sports, has spent the past four years working in the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings hockey operations department. And Rheaume鈥檚 hiring represents a homecoming for the 54-year-old, who spent 11 years in a developmental role for the Detroit-based Little Caesars youth hockey girls鈥� program.
鈥淪he brings an unmatched resume, a championship mindset and a lifelong commitment to growing the women鈥檚 game,鈥� said Jayna Hefford, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations, who oversees the hiring process.
鈥淗er experience at every level of hockey, combined with her leadership and vision, makes her the perfect person to lead PWHL Detroit into its inaugural season,鈥� Hefford added.
Rheaume鈥檚 hiring comes a little more than a week after the league announced Detroit as an expansion team. The PWHL has since added two more franchises in , and is planning make one more addition in growing to a 12-team league for next season.
Of the PWHL鈥檚 nine GMs now in place, seven are women.
鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly honored to join the PWHL and help build something special in Detroit,鈥� Rheaume said. 鈥淭he city has such a deep hockey tradition, and the passion for hockey here is truly special.鈥�
Among her first duties is preparing for an expansion free-agent signing process tentatively scheduled to begin on May 28, followed by the league鈥檚 draft, which will be .
Rheaume is from Beauport, Quebec, and began making her international mark in the early 1990s by signing with Trois-Rivieres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In 1992, she tried out for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, and allowed two goals on nine shots in one period of a preseason game against St. Louis. A year later, she made a second preseason game appearance against Boston.
Rheaume went on to win a silver medal representing Canada at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first to feature a women鈥檚 tournament. She also won gold medals at the 1992 and 鈥�94 world championships.
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