Ève Gascon’s career in men’s hockey is coming to an end. What could be better than finishing him at the top of the college league goalie rankings?
“I’m really satisfied with my season,” Gascon said on the phone Friday morning, a few hours before the first playoff game for the Saint-Laurent College Patriots.
Satisfied, the Cerberus has every reason to be.
After overcoming a serious ankle injury last summer, the Terrebonne native came to the Patriotes in the fall for her third and final collegiate season before heading to Minnesota, where she will play the year next with an NCAA division 1 women’s team.
Gascon had the best season of his young career; she finished it as the league’s top goaltender with a remarkable .922 save percentage, 2.30 goals-against average and 16 wins in 23 games. For all these reasons, she was named to the RSEQ’s first all-star team.
The word “satisfied”, therefore, appears to us here as an understatement.
“From the start, I had some good games. I had the confidence of my coaches too, explains the young woman. I worked hard all year in practice and in games. »
We had a good team too, so for sure it helps anyway, but I did what I had to do.
Eve Gascon
The 19-year-old has worked on being “more patient, goalkeeper bigger, going in a butterfly slower”. She therefore gives fewer goals in the top of the net, she notes.
Last year, his father Stéphane Gascon told The Press that “her percentage of efficiency, she [venait] sick “. At the mention of this sentence, the main interested party laughs.
“I’m less worse,” she said. It is sure that I look at that a little! I compare myself a lot, that’s still what motivates me too. But I want to play for the team and even if I win 6-5 I will be happy. »
Still, she can also be proud of her statistics this season.
A new chapter
Next August, therefore, Gascon will no longer be a Patriot. She will be a Bulldog. A Bulldog from the University of Minnesota at Duluth. And for the first time in her life, she will play a full season with a women’s team. In a city where she knows “absolutely no one”.
It will be, she knows, “an adjustment, both on and off the ice”. On the ice rink, she will have the pleasure of discovering a different “type of game”. She also chose her university wisely.
“I have a good relationship with the coaches, it’s a hockey town, it seems really nice. They are in a good conference too, they face big teams. There is also the fact that this is not a team where the goalkeeper receives 15 shots per game. I was also interested. »
I want to make a difference, so I didn’t want to go to a team that dominates everyone.
Eve Gascon
Playing full time with women will allow her to acquire a different experience which, she evokes, will perhaps allow her to “be better also in the camps [de l’équipe nationale] “.
For the rest, she will discover it on the spot.
“Since I was very young I’ve been playing with guys. I know the mood, what it’s about, etc. With girls, I have no idea. […] I have no doubt that I will get along well with everyone. »
The National team
The last two years of Gascon’s life were busy. After experiencing the disappointment of not being drafted into the QMJHL three years ago, she hoped to receive an invitation to a camp. An invitation that only came a year later.
Last season, in 2021-2022, she played two games on the Quebec junior circuit with the Gatineau Olympiques; at the first, she received a standing ovation from a packed house, and at the second, she picked up her first win. She has not been recalled this season, but she will remember these precious memories.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVES
Eve Gascon
“Just because we’re a girl doesn’t mean we can’t. If we take talent, regardless of gender, that’s what will allow us to have more girls. There are still mentalities to change, but it’s part of the journey of hockey. »
As she has often repeated, Gascon dreams of one day representing her country at the Olympic Games. Last summer, she took part in training camp for the U22 and senior teams, but her ankle injury prevented her from taking part in matches; she was at “30%” of her form. Due to this, she was not selected in the U22 squad.
“This summer, I really want to train hard, have a good ethic to come to camp ready, show what I can do, be 100%,” she said. Last summer, I did too many things, I played a lot of dek hockey. Maybe that’s what didn’t help either. It’s the little things that matter.
“This summer, I would like that, make the team. »
Goals are set. All that remains is to do everything to reach them.
In NHL 2023
To his surprise, Ève Gascon is eligible for the draft… in video games NHL 2023 ! “When I first found out, I was like: there’s a mistake there! she exclaims. “Honestly, it’s still weird! I have a friend of mine who drafted me into the game, she adds. […] I did not expect that ! »