The big puzzle of women’s hockey in Quebec

On the one hand, there seems to be a lack of options for young girls who wish to thrive in hockey, on the other, programs are struggling to recruit due in particular to the distance between the teams. The situation is not simple and Radio-Canada Sports has tried to navigate it.

For the situation in Fadette, we had several meetings to find solutions. […] We have set up a committee and we are looking at possible solutions for the next season. We will look at what can be done for young girls in the Richelieu region. We will try to find a solution for the 2023-2024 season. said Marcel Patenaude, hockey director at Hockey Quebec.

In the long term, Hockey Quebec would like each of the female teams that make up the midget AAA league in the province to have an affiliated sports-study program. These programs would be reserved for young girls who progress in the AAA teams and would allow them to perfect their development.

As for the pool of players which has stagnated for several years between 6,000 and 7,000 athletes, the hockey director believes he has found a solution. The avenue offered to players who are not part of the provincial elite is to register in the Interregional Women’s Hockey League.

However, the great distance between the teams of the different categories did not help the retention of players. The Quebec federation recently began working with the league to reduce the distances to be covered.

This is the first year that we will be able to work directly with that league, in which, for example, a young player from Sherbrooke could play either in Quebec or Montreal. There were great distances to cover. We are now working so that young girls can play in more restricted areas and have less travel to do every day to practice their sport. he said.

” I think one of the reasons why we have reached a plateau of players is that every time there is one who registers, there is one who withdraws because of the distances to be covered. . I don’t think it was a proper league for low level young girls. It was important for Hockey Quebec to get involved in improving the service to these young girls. »

Increasing the caliber at college, a possible solution

Unlike male hockey players who can continue their development at the junior level, female players who finish their years in the midget AAA (the elite league for young girls aged 15 to 17) must turn to collegiate hockey if they want to continue their journey. in this sport in Quebec. What happens next will lead the best players to university hockey.

You have to start by developing the base. We only have 6,500 female hockey players in Quebec. The challenge, and it is not easy, is to group the girls in certain regions so that they can play at their level said Stéphane Auger, head of hockey development and operations at the RSEQ.

The question of the number of Division 1 college teams often came up in discussions. There are currently seven teams in the female midget AAA league, as many as in Division 1 of the RSEQ collegiate league (including the Cégep de Saint-Laurent team).

According to Stéphane Auger, reducing the number of teams in the collegiate Division 1 would increase the caliber of the formations and thus retain the elite players of this age group in the province.

The network (RSEQ) and Hockey Quebec had sat down with various stakeholders 3 years ago, before my arrival, and they had agreed, to have a slightly fairer level of play, to come to a league of six teams. There would be a Division 2 league for players who wish to continue their journey in a structured league, with good coaching, but perhaps a little less strong he explained.

The league of excellence in hockey in Quebec is the women’s collegiate league. The idea of ​​reducing the number of teams in Division 1 would bring together talents. Players who see that the caliber is not high enough may choose to find alternatives to the United States, for example, to have a higher caliber of play and be able to access the university level. In that time, we lose them. It’s not simple, but it always comes down to the fact that there are just 6,500 female hockey players in Quebec. he added.

The coach of the Université de Montréal Carabins women’s hockey team, Isabelle Leclaire, agrees. Although she believes that the players who choose the United States do so without having even visited the Quebec facilities, since it is a childhood dream, she thinks that reducing the number of women’s teams in Division 1 would be beneficial.

I speak in my personal name, but I believe that indeed, the product is a little too diluted in college. There are the same number of college teams as in midget AAA, the division above. Normally, one should have a pyramid to make the caliber rise as one progresses through the structureshe explained.

According to her, the adaptation would also be easier for players who make the transition to Quebec university hockey after their CEGEP years. However, she does not want to see college hockey programs disappear.

The solution, in his opinion, would be to see the number of teams increase in Division 2, in order to allow as many players as possible to practice their sport in a supervised and competitive environment, while maintaining a high level of play in the first division. The college network currently has four women’s teams in its second division.

There could even be a system of promotion and relegation, as we see in certain international sports. It is sure that it is not simple, there are many stakes. There will always be disappointments on the part of the colleges, the players, of falling into Division 2. But we have to change mentalities and stop thinking that it is not right to play in Division 2. We need this structure there, otherwise girls at CEGEP level will have to stop playing hockey because the service is not offered she said.

Isabelle Leclaire also believes that the idea of ​​establishing a division 2 at the university level should be considered.

Once you leave college, you get to university. If we don’t make the first level teams, there aren’t many options for the girls. Several players who come out of college are not of the caliber, currently, to make one of the four university teams that we have here in Quebec. It’s okay that way if we want to keep the quality of our excellent hockey, but we’re going to have to offer them an option so that they can continue to play, even at that level. did she say.

And after college, what’s next for players? This is another element that we will have to tackle eventually.said Leclaire.

Two options are slowly emerging for players coming out of college, but nothing is in place.

We hear a lot about the creation of the professional league, which we hope will eventually see the light of day. We are talking about January 2023 with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). Since this group is formed by Olympians and girls who have played in the national team, it seems to want to become the level 1 groupexplained the coach of the Carabins.

There is also the PHF (Premier Hockey Federation) which announced this winter the creation of a team in Montreal.

As the two organizations do not seem to want to unite, something that is seen as negative at the base could create us two leagues and two teams: one of higher level and one of a little lower level, as we see in the professional among the men. It would allow players coming out of college who are not yet able to carve out a position on the first level team to continue their careers raised Leclaire.