In a still recent era when players could not make a living from professional hockey in North America, European leagues were sought after by athletes wishing to prolong their careers. Suddenly, the Old Continent appears rather as a springboard.
As long as the Women’s Professional Hockey League (LPHF) does not expand its roster, available spots will be rare and fiercely contested. In this context, for dozens of young players who were not drafted, time was pressing to find a plan B, or even a plan C.
In Sweden alone, a dozen Canadians and Americans who left the university ranks in 2024 will soon make their professional debuts in the SDHL, the highest-calibre league in Europe. Quebecers Alexie Guay and Ann-Frédérique Guay (no relation), who played in the NCAA in 2023-24, are among them.
The first, a defender, had registered for the LPHF draft last June. She was not selected. However, she had previously signed a contract with the MoDo club. Last June, she explained to The Press that she preferred to play quality minutes there rather than cling to a role as a reserve, or even as a spectator, here.
Read the article from The Presspublished last June
PHOTO SCHUYLER MEYER, COURTESY OF CLARKSON UNIVERSITY
Alexie Guay, in the uniform of the Clarkson University Golden Knights
The second, a forward, skipped the draft, signing directly with Linköping. She recently told the Hockey News that reaching the LPHF remains its long-term goal.
Read the article from Hockey News
The Swedish league is particularly popular for its caliber of play, but also because of the large number of spots available for North Americans. Recruitment, however, takes place very early, so that by summer, the teams are essentially full.
Rookie players looking for work overseas have had to broaden their horizons. Last week, Concordia University Stingers forward Rosalie Bégin-Cyr joined the Hockey Academy in Neufchâtel, in the Swiss first division.
Jessika Boulanger, a forward for the Carabins of the University of Montreal, has also packed her bags for Switzerland. However, a place awaits her in the second division, in Lausanne. When she spoke with The Presstwo days before her departure, she said she was “overexcited”.
PHOTO JAMES HAJJAR, PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL
Jessika Boulanger (55), in the uniform of the Carabins of the University of Montreal
“My goal is to make myself known in Europe, and then to see, during the year or next year, if I can find a contract elsewhere,” she says. “I know there are stronger calibers [dans d’autres circuits]but I am already very happy to have found a contract.”
Over the past few months, she has been juggling all sorts of scenarios. She considered not registering for the LPHF draft, but persisted so as to “not regret it.” Nevertheless, in a auction with only seven rounds, and against players from all over the world, she knew she would not be selected.
She therefore leaves for Lausanne with the aim of “making a name for herself” and, who knows, perhaps even re-registering for the repechage next year or after.
“See where it takes me”
Marie-Camille Théorêt has more nuanced aims.
The former Bishop’s University defender, a member of the RSEQ all-star team for the past two seasons, has just landed in Austria, where she will line up with the Neuberg Highlanders. This club is a member of the EWHL, a circuit that also includes teams in Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Hungary and Kazakhstan.
PHOTO SIMON SWAIN, COURTESY OF BISHOP UNIVERSITY
Marie-Camille Théorêt, in the uniform of the Bishop’s University Gaiters
“I don’t know yet if it will be for just one year or more,” she says. “I have more or less goals: after my studies, I wanted to live the professional life and see where it takes me.”
If it’s to a stronger league, with a higher salary, so much the better. If it allows me to live my last years of hockey and travel, that’s fine with me too.
Marie-Camille Théorêt
Quickly, at the beginning of the summer, she realized that the LPHF teams did not “see her in their soup”. Talks then began with Neuberg, where Jessica Bélanger, a former teammate at Bishop, had already played. When the discussions resulted in “a contract that made sense”, the project came to fruition.
Her moderate expectations for the rest of her hockey career don’t stop Marie-Camille Théorêt from being “super excited” about this new challenge. With degrees in political science, climate change and knowledge mobilization, and while she is completing a master’s degree in food security remotely at Université Laval, she gets excited when talking about the “political and cultural” environment she will discover in Central Europe. “I’m going to embrace all of that,” she sums up.
“All that,” plus starting a professional career on the ice. We’ve seen worse programs.