Manon Rhéaume was a talented hockey goalie from Quebec who ended up on a national stage unlike anything she expected when she was invited to train with the NHL’s newest expansion team in 1992, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 20-year-old tender ended up in goal in an exhibition game with St. Louis and stopped 7 shots, even though St. Louis started the game on a power-play. Manon played exhibition games in the 92’ and 93’ seasons and then spent time in the Canadian Major Juniors after becoming the first female player to play in both a Canadian Major Junior game and in the NHL. She continued with a debut in the IHL and European pro leagues. Rhéaume is also an Olympian, having won a silver Medal as a goalie for the Canadian Women’s National Team in Nagano in ‘98, the first year women’s Hockey became an Olympic sport.
Rhéaume knew her signing to the Lightning was intended to drum up interest in the new expansion team, but at that point, she said “I didn’t care why they invited me. I got a chance to play at the highest level and I want to live without regrets so I am going to go for it.” What she didn’t know was how much her appearance in the rink would inspire people. There was a media circus that seemed to catch the small-town Quebec girl off guard. When asked about reporting to Tampa Bay she said, “The day I showed up there, I already had a pile of fan mail… from the U.S. and Canada. I got mail every week asking for interviews on shows that I had no clue about. I went on Letterman, I didn’t even know who he was!”
Her career is studded with important firsts and barriers broken. While her time with the Lightning was the height of her public exposure, she has been a stalwart of the Hockey scene her whole life. Her few appearances on the NHL stage and then her work with the National Women’s Team and women’s professional hockey have helped advance women’s hockey. The attention Rhéaume has grabbed since appearing in hockey’s highest level, especially at a time when the sport was less inclusive than it is now continues to inspire a new generation of women on the ice.
