The first woman to play in any of the major North American sports leagues when she was goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues on Sept. 23, 1992 will work with executives in multiple areas and focus on prospect development.
"I'm excited to join the Kings and look forward to working with our young players as they go through their individual development process," Rheaume said. "There are so many elements that factor into a player's journey once they join an organization, and my focus will be on helping to provide them with the tools and guidance they need to ease that transition as the strive to reach their ultimate goal of playing in the NHL."
Rheaume played the first period against the Blues, allowing goals by Jeff Brown and Brendan Shanahan on nine shots, and attracted mainstream attention for the Lightning, one of two teams (Ottawa Senators) that joined the NHL for the 1992-93 season. She also helped Canada win the silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, the first Olympics to feature a women's hockey tournament, and finish first at the 1992 and 1994 IIHF Women's World Championship.
"Manon is an excellent communicator who brings a unique perspective and will play an important role in our hockey operations department," director of player personnel Nelson Emerson said. "She has the skill set to help bridge the gap for our young players throughout their development cycle and will be tasked with helping to introduce and maintain a level of understanding and accountability for our players as they work in conjunction with our development staff."
Rheaume is the girls program coordinator and coach of the 12-and-under girls team for the Little Caesars hockey program in Detroit and will continue to reside in Michigan.
Thirty years after playing for the Lightning, Rheaume participated in the adidas NHL Breakaway Challenge, part of the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills presented by Draft Kings in Las Vegas. She said during 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend it was encouraging that more women are getting opportunities with NHL teams.
During a historic time for women in hockey, Jessica Campbell on Tuesday became the first woman named a full-time assistant coach in the history of the American Hockey League when she joined the new affiliate of the Seattle Kraken in Coachella Valley, which is scheduled to begin play next season. Three more women have been hired as assistant general managers in the NHL, Meghan Hunter with the Chicago Blackhawks on June 22, Hayley Wickenheiser with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and Kate Madigan with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. Emily Engel-Natzke was hired as the video coordinator by the Washington Capitals on June 30, making her the first woman to hold that position in the NHL. The Devils promoted Meghan Duggan to director, player development May 31, about one year after the retired captain of the United States national team was named manager, player development.
The Vancouver Canucks named Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato as assistant GMs on Jan. 24 and Feb. 10, respectively.
"Diversity in the organization helps to bring different perspectives, point of view, maybe even thinking outside of the box," Rheaume said. "When you can bring some of that, it's very beneficial to [an] organization, instead of always having the same process or thinking. For myself, coaching those young girls, every time they see someone getting a job somewhere, I can just tell how much more they want to play the game knowing they have something at the end of it."
