Ottawa Citizen
July 9, 2000

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Manon Rheaume has announced she's retiring as goaltender for Canada after eight years with the women's national team. "I always said that the day I lost the fire to play goalie was the day I would retire from the Canadian national team," Rheaume said in a statement released by Mission Hockey, an equipment manufacturer that employs the native of Lac Beauport, Que.

"Never did a day go by that I woke up dreading having to train, go to practice or play in a game," said Rheaume, 28. "I feel I'm at a stage in my life where it's time for a new challenge."

But she will continue to play as a forward with the Montreal Wingstars of the National Women's Hockey League. "I'm not ready to totally walk away from the game and that's why I'm playing in the NWHL as a forward," Rheaume said. Rheaume will be the head of global marketing for women's hockey at Mission Hockey.

Manon Rheaume and son Dylan

Rheaume won a silver medal with the Canadian women's team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics but was left off this year's team that won the gold medal at the world championships in Mississauga, Ont.

Considered a trailblazer for women hockey players, Rheaume was the first woman to play in a major junior hockey game, following that up by being the first woman to play in an NHL game. She started for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game in 1992.

Her brother Pascal plays for the St. Louis Blues and her husband Gerry St. Cyr is a member of Canada's roller hockey team. St. Cyr and Rheaume have a 13-month-old son, Dylan.

Reprinted with permission