Manon Rheaume is carrying over her trailblazing women's hockey career into a front office role after being hired as the general manager of the PWHL's expansion team in Detroit, the league announced Friday.
The Canadian Olympic goaltender, and first woman to appear in an exhibition game of any of North America's four major men's sports, has spent the past four years working in the Los Angeles Kings' hockey operations department. Rheaume's 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' program.
"I'm incredibly honored to join the PWHL and help build something special in Detroit," Rheaume said. "The city has such a deep hockey tradition, and the passion for hockey here is truly special."
Rheaume's hiring comes a little more than a week after the league announced Detroit as an expansion team. The PWHL has since added franchises in Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario, and is planning to make one more addition in growing to a 12-team league for next season.
Of the PWHL's nine general managers now in place, seven are women.
"She brings an unmatched résumé, a championship mindset and a lifelong commitment to growing the women's game," said Jayna Hefford, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations, who oversees the hiring process.
"Her 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," Hefford added.
Among Rheaume's first duties is preparing for an expansion free agent signing process tentatively scheduled to begin May 28, followed by the league's draft, which will be held in Detroit on June 17.
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 Tampa Bay Lightning and allowed two goals on nine shots in one period of a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues. A year later, she made a second preseason appearance against the Boston Bruins.
She went on to win a silver medal with Canada at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first to feature a women's tournament. She also won gold medals at the 1992 and 1994 world championships.
