Manon Rhéaume: First Woman in the NHL

On September twenty third, nineteen ninety two, man No Rehome, a Canadian hockey player, makes her preseason debut with the newly formed Tampa Bay Lightning. But what made this special was that no other woman had ever played in an NHL game of any type and made her the first woman to play in one of the four major North American pro sports league. We're going to dive into how she got here and why she was chosen today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. And today's trivia question to listen out for is what magazine was my own Rahome asked to be a part of after becoming the first professional women's hockey player now Meno, as you can guess by her name, is French. She grew up in the French part of Quebec, Canada. Speaks French and English, but has a very strong French accent as French was her first language, and she grew up so as many Canadians do, surrounded by hockey, as her father was a hockey coach and ran the local rink in her town and her brothers all played hockey, including her brother Pascal, who also made it to the NHL, and because of this, Menon began skating at the age of three in a rink in their backyard, and she was often practicing in the goal as most of her brothers were older, but she didn't need to be as fast as them or as strong as them to play goalie. She could still block the puck at any love, no matter the size of her brothers, and this really helped her develop as a player and really gave her her position of goldie. And she started playing with the boys early as when she was young, one of her father's teams was missing their goalie and didn't have enough players to play, so she stepped up and said I can play goalie, and it was the first time she played against the boys, but she would do this throughout her early life as women's hockey backing the pre two thousands was very limited, so she grew up playing on the boys team in school and youth leagues, and at the age of eleven, she played in the International Pee Weee Hockey Tournament, being the first girl to ever do so, and in nineteen ninety one she played in the Luisville of Quebec Tier two junior hockey, which is a level of kind of minor leagues in my pro hockey. Also that same year, she became the first woman to play in a major junior hockey game, which is the highest level of amateur hockey. Although she did struggle and she came in in her first midway through her first game and let three goals go in on thirteen shots and would only play three games in juniors. But she did not only play with the boys. Inteen, she was the goalie for the Canadian women's World Championship team where the team won goal and she only gave up two goals in three games, and this really put her on the map for a new expansion team for the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now in the nineteen nineties, the HL was expanding had multiple expansion teams start up and Tampa Bay was one of those teams. And Phil Esposito, a former hockey player, and his brother Tony, who both were a part of the Hockey Hall of Fame, joined together to be part of the bid for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Phil appointed himself president and general manager of the team and in putting the team together. He actually he came across Mignon, who had just had success with the women's Canadian hockey team, and brought her in for training camp. Now, one reason they also brought her in was MANI said she was very attractive and even Playboy thought so. As after this, they offered her thousands of dollars to pose in their magazine, which she actually refused due to her values. On sept but she went through chaining camp just like everyone else. And at this time, and even though she knew it was mainly a publicity stunt, she thought at least it was giving her the chance. It got her in through the door, and maybe she could make some noise. Maybe she would actually turn this into an actual chance to make the team. And on September twenty third, nineteen eighty two, in a preseason game against the Saint Louis Blues, she came in in the second period, becoming the first woman to play a game on be a preseason but still playing a NHL game in sports history. Although she did struggle, she allowed two goals on nine shots, and soon after this she would get cut. But the Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League which is a minor professional league, would go on and sign her and for the next five years she would bounce around from different teams in the minor leagues, fighting for her chance to make it to the NHL, and in nineteen ninety three she would actually be brought back again in the preseason for the Tampa Bay Lightning and another shot, although again she did not make the team and went back down to the Miners, and in nineteen ninety seven she would retire from professional hockey and begin to start coaching, and in nineteen ninety eight she was part of the Canadian the women's Canadian hockey team who made it all the way to the gold medal game, losing seven to four to the United States but winning a silver medal and as well as in two thousand, she became the marketing director of Missions Hockey, helping develop and promote girls' hockey equipment for the next few years, and in two thousand and eight, the Western Women's Hockey League started up and she joined the Minnesota white Caps and helped lead them to the championship. And in twenty twenty one, she was hired by Bally Sports Detroit to be a reporter to be an analyst and reporter for the Red Wings, and in two thousand and two she would go on to be hired by the Los Angeles Kings and become a hockey operations and prospect advisor. Though she did not make it to the actual NHL regular season games, she did get the chance to play with the pros in preseason and it gave her at least a chance and an opportunity. It may have been a whole stunt to sell tickets for a new team, but she turned it in a chance to play for multiple minor league teams and to have a career in hockey for the rest of her life. She still works with hockey and coaches hockey and is still the first woman to play a game for one of the four major sports leagues in America, and that's something that no one can ever take away from her. And if you're interested to learn more about the Tampa Bay Lightning, I encourage you to listen to We the Thunder podcast, where they bring together multiple super fans to talk about the team once a week during the NHL season and also bringing along guests who are part of the time team. Most recently, they brought on the equipment manager for the team, which is a unique position that every team needs, but many often forget about. I love hearing all about the Lightning's equipment manager and how he even got to that position. So check out We the Thunder to learn more about the Tampa Bay Lightning and if you if you enjoyed this, please leave us for review or rating wherever you're listening. It really helps me out, allowing more allowing more people to see the show. And come back tomorrow for more daily sports history and the answer to today's trivia question. What magazine was my own rehome asked to be a part of after becoming the first professional women's hockey player. The magazine was Playboy, and they asked her and they were going to pay her thousands of dollars to pose nude in their magazine, which she rejected due to her values. They look on pat the thing