Manon Rhéaume (born February 24, 1972) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender and current general manager for PWHL Detroit.
In 1992, Rhéaume signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (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, winning gold medals at the IIHF Women's World Championship in 1992 and 1994, and the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Playing career
Rhéaume 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. Rhéaume was signed to the Trois-Rivières Draveurs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, 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, allowing two goals on nine shots, and played in another preseason game against the Boston Bruins in 1993. 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. of the Canadian women's ice hockey championships. On March 19, 2009, 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, snapping a string that saw the X-Treme go two years without tasting defeat in the regular season.
In October 2008, the IHL's Port Huron Icehawks 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 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.
In 2015, Rhéaume dropped the puck in the ceremonial opening faceoff before the first National Women's Hockey League game.
In October 2021, Rhéaume was hired by Bally Sports Detroit 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 a hockey operations and prospect advisor for the Los Angeles Kings.
On May 15, 2026, it was announced that Rhéaume would be the GM for the newly formed PWHL Detroit team.
First women's hockey card
Manon Rhéaume's 1992 Classic Games trading cards were the first of a women’s hockey player ever produced. Since those first cards in 1992, over 1400 cards of Rhéaume have been produced, the most of any women's hockey player ever by a wide margin.
Media and popular culture
Rhéaume guest-starred as herself in the made-for-TV movie A Beachcombers Christmas with Tiger Williams and Jyrki Lumme. At the height of her popularity, she was approached to pose for Playboy Magazine, which she refused. A goaltender like his mother, Dylan St. Cyr played for the Michigan State Spartans and previously served as goaltender for Notre Dame and Quinnipiac University.
After her divorce from Gerry St. Cyr, Rhéaume married her second husband, with whom she had a second son, Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen, a defenseman who was drafted in the 2022 OHL Priority selection by the Sarnia Sting, 124th overall in the 7th round, and now plays for the Michigan Wolverines collegiately.
Rhéaume formed the Manon Rhéaume Foundation in 2008, which provides scholarships for young women.
She is the older sister of former NHL player Pascal Rhéaume.
Career statistics
Career statistics from Eliteprospects or The Internet Hockey Database or The Western Women's Hockey League.
Ice hockey regular season
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:75%;"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"|Regular season
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP
! W
! L
! T/OT
! MIN
! GA
! SO
! GAA
! SV%
|-
| 1991–92
| Trois-Rivières Draveurs
| QMJHL
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 18
| 3
| 0
| 10.55
| .750
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1992–93
| Atlanta Knights
| IHL
| 2
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 66
| 7
| 0
| 6.36
| .806
|-
| 1993–94
| Knoxville Cherokees
| ECHL
| 2
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 187
| 13
| 0
| 4.17
| .870
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1993–94
| Nashville Knights
| ECHL
| 4
| 3
| 0
| 0
| 197
| 12
| 0
| 3.64
| .901
|-
| 1994–95
| Las Vegas Aces
| PSHL
| 0
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994–95
| Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
| ECHL
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 20
| 4
| 0
| 12.00
| .750
|-
| 1994–95
| Las Vegas Thunder
| IHL
| 2
| —
| —
| —
| 53
| 3
| 0
| 3.41
| .824
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996–97
| Reno Renegades
| WCHL
| 11
| 2
| 4
| 0
| 425
| 40
| 0
| 5.65
| .868
|-
| 2000–01
| Montreal Wingstar
| NWHL
| 4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2007–08
| Minnesota Whitecaps
| WWHL
| 1
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 63
| 2
| 0
| 1.90
| .939
|-
| 2008–09
| Minnesota Whitecaps
| WWHL
| 2
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 120
| 6
| 0
| 3.00
| .880
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2008–09
| Flint Generals
| IHL
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 2
| 1
| 0
| 30.00
| .000
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3"| WCHL totals
! 11
! 2
! 4
! 0
! 425
! 40
! 0
! 5.65
! .868
|}
Ice Hockey International
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em;"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! Result
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! GP
! W
! L
! OT
! MIN
! GA
! SO
! GAA
! SV%
|-
| 1992
| Canada
| WC
|
| 3 || - || - || - || - || - || - || 0.67 || 0.957
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994
| Canada
| WC
|
| 4 || - || - || - || 209:00 || 6 || - || 1.72 || 0.864
|-
| 1998
| Canada
| OG
|
| 4 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 207:59 || 4 || 1 || 1.15 || 0.926
|}
Inline hockey regular season
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:75%;"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"|Regular season
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP
! W
! L
! T/OT
! MIN
! GA
! SO
! GAA
! SV%
|-
| 1993–94
| New Jersey Rockin' Rollers
| RHI
| 4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994–95
| New Jersey Rockin' Rollers
| RHI
| 1
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1995–96
| Sacramento River Rats
| RHI
| 4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1995–96
| Ottawa Loggers
| RHI
| 1
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3"| RHI totals
! 10
! —
! —
! —
! —
! —
! —
! —
! —
|}
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.
- First woman to play in a major junior game [1991–92 Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)]
- 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 Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL), played one exhibition game]
- First woman to win a game in professional roller hockey
- Played one game with Feldkirch.
- 2000–01 Montreal Wingstar (Forward)
- 2007–08 Little Caesars Senior Women's A Hockey Team (Playing as a Forward instead of Goaltender)
See also
- Ann Meyers, a woman who signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers in 1979
References
External links
- Manon Rhéaume at the Women's Hockey Web
- Manon Rhéaume: The Woman Behind the Mask at NFB.ca
- Manon Rhéaume Foundation