Trailblazing goalie Rheaume hired to become first GM of Detroit expansion team

Manon Rheaume is carrying over her trailblazing women's hockey career into a front office role in being hired as the general manager of the PWHL's expansion team in Detroit, the league announced on Friday. The Canadian Olympian goaltender, and first woman to appear in an exhibition game of any of North America's four major sports, has spent the past four years working in the NHL's Los Angeles Kings hockey operations department. And Rheaume's hiring represents a homecoming for the 54-year-old, who spent 11 years in a developmental role for the Detroit-based Little Caesars youth hockey girls' program. "She brings an unmatched resume, a championship mindset and a lifelong commitment to growing the women's game," said Jayna Hefford, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations, who oversees the hiring process. "Her experience at every level of hockey, combined with her leadership and vision, makes her the perfect person to lead PWHL Detroit into its inaugural season," Hefford added. In a separate announcement, the PWHL also hired women's player agent, Dominique DiDia, as GM of the league's expansion franchise in Las Vegas. Rheaume's hiring comes a little more than a week after the league announced Detroit as an expansion team. The PWHL has since added two more franchises in Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario, and is planning make one more addition in growing to a 12-team league for next season. Of the PWHL's 10 GMs now in place, eight are women. "I'm incredibly honored to join the PWHL and help build something special in Detroit," Rheaume said. "The city has such a deep hockey tradition, and the passion for hockey here is truly special." Among her first duties is preparing for an expansion free-agent signing process tentatively scheduled to begin on May 28, followed by the league's draft, which will be held in Detroit on June 17. Rheaume is from Beauport, Quebec, and began making her international mark in the early 1990s by signing with Trois-Rivieres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In 1992, she tried out for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, and allowed two goals on nine shots in one period of a preseason game against St. Louis. A year later, she made a second preseason game appearance against Boston. Rheaume went on to win a silver medal representing Canada at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first to feature a women's tournament. She also won gold medals at the 1992 and '94 world championships. DiDia takes over in Las Vegas DiDia joins the PWHL after representing a number of league players including Boston goalie Aerin Frankel, Toronto forward Blayre Turnbull and Seattle teammates Cayla Barnes and Hannah Bilka. She worked for CAA Sports since 2022 and eventually launched the agency's women's hockey department. "She understands the evolving landscape of women's hockey and has a strong vision for building a team and culture that reflects both the ambition of the PWHL and the energy of the Las Vegas market," Hefford said. From Los Angeles, DiDia grew up playing hockey and spent nine years working for the L.A. Kings in eventually becoming the team's director of marketing and content publicity. "Las Vegas has embraced hockey with a rare intensity, and you can feel that the game has become part of this city's heartbeat," DiDia said. "Growing up as a player in Los Angeles, I witnessed the sport's expansion across the Southwest, making this opportunity at the forefront of women's hockey in Nevada deeply meaningful to me." ___ AP women's hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey