An Impressive Debut

How about the smile? That's Rhyah Stewart, the 16 year-old netminder from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, who was playing for the Cape Breton West Islanders in Nova Scotia's U18 hockey league last season. You likely heard that Rhyah played half a game for the QMJHL's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles last night, and her performance was nothing short of brilliant as she showed the 2005 fans who showed up that she may be ready to be part of a tandem in the Cape Breton nets at the QMJHL level. I don't think anyone should be surprised that Stewart may be ready to make the jump to major junior hockey considering her skill set, but her ability to perform at a level high enough to warrant a shot speaks volumes to how far and how quickly women's hockey has progressed since the likes of Manon Rheaume's moments with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

1992 saw the Tampa Nay Lightning invite 20 year-old Manon Rheaume to training camp where she showed her stuff and beat out of a few of the guys who may have snickered at the thought of a woman guarding the net of an NHL team. Clearly, Rheaume had the last laugh as she played in parts of two preseason games, but she was ultimately cut at the end of training camp. What isn't mentioned in that story is that Rheaume had played one game in the QMJHL for the Trois-Rivières Draveurs during the 1991-92 season.

On November 26, 1991, the 19 year-old was sent into a 5-5 game against the Granby Bisons. She allowed three goals and had to exit the game after 17:04 of ice time when her mask was shattered by a shot from Patrick Tessier, leaving her with a cut over her eye that needed attention. While Granby won the game by a 10-6 score, it was clear that Gaston Drapeau, head coach and general manager of the Draveurs, saw something in Rheaume that few others did.

"She's not on our roster as the third-string goalie for nothing," he told reporters. "It`s because she's good. She can play."

That's precisely the view that Cape Breton is taking with Stewart as Screaming Eagles general manager Sylvain Couturier made that point clear when the club drafted her in the QMJHL bantam draft.

"Firstly, let's be clear, she is invited to the camp because she deserves it," he stated matter-of-factly. "She is quick and rivals every shot. You do not receive an offer from the University of Wisconsin for nothing, and an invitation to Hockey Canada if you are just average. She is special."

Talent at any position shouldn't be held back over gender, and Stewart's 24-save performance in 30 minutes of work - allowing no goals to the Moncton Wildcats, it should be noted - is a shining example of why Couturier used a bantam pick to select Stewart. She left the net last night with the Screaming Eagles leading 2-0 before Brandon Lavoie took over for the final half of the game, and I'll note here that Cape Breton lost the game 5-3 at the final horn.
Stopping an early breakaway? No problem. Quick glove save off a face-off? She's got it. Battling through screens and protecting the bottom-half of the net when it comes to loose pucks and rebounds? Second nature for Stewart. As you can hear, the play-by-play broadcaster was quite impressed with Stewart's play in the 30 minutes she protected the Screaming Eagles' net!

In what might come as disappointing news, it seems that Stewart likely won't be part of the Screaming Eagles this season as she has committed to the University of Wisconsin Badgers program for the 2024-25 season, but her move to the NCAA may set up some rather remarkable goaltending battles between Stewart and Minnesota-Duluth's Ève Gascon for the foreseeable future. If there was any question or doubt about the state of Canadian goaltending for the national women's team on the international stage, it seems the American midwest may hold the keys to the future in that regard.

With these two young women have proved they can not only play at the QMJHL level, but win and succeed there, it might be time for the "publicity stunt" crowd to sit down and button their yaps. Like the young men who come to camps across Canada in the CHL, solid talent will rise to the top when teams are hunting for good players, and those who capitalize on their opportunities will get more chances to continue finding successes. This isn't something new and everyone knows this is how good teams are selected, but there are still a handful of neanderthals and troglodytes wandering around in this world who believe that girls can't, shouldn't, and won't be good enough to play at the same level as boys.

Manon Rheaume started it. Charline Labonté pushed the bar higher. Shannon Szabados took it up a few notches again. Ève Gascon set it even higher than her predecessors. And the new kid pushing the bar higher is Rhyah Stewart who will - mark my words - make this country proud with her talents in the crease in the future. For anyone who thinks that these women should have been held back from competing against men or boys, it seems pretty obvious that they held their own when it came to getting their shot.

Rhyah Stewart's 24-save effort in Friday's game is the start of what appears to be a very special goaltending career for the 17 year-old. I'll be cheering for her no matter where she goes or for whom she plays, but it seems clear that she's ready to stop any shot coming her way no matter who is shooting those pucks!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!