Like Danielle Goyette, a native of Saint-Nazaire-d’Acton, a village of less than 1000 inhabitants located in Montérégie. Because without any prejudice, we do not expect that a girl from Saint-Nazaire will one day find herself in the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Maurice Richard and the greatest of hockey.
However, this is what Danielle Goyette achieved after establishing herself as one of the best hockey players on the planet. Her talent and perseverance allowed her to become the very first Quebecer to pass through the doors of the pantheon, in November 2017.
Danielle Goyette was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. (Christopher Kastarov/Canadian Press Archives)
But should we really be surprised after she won three Olympic medals, including two gold, and eight world championships? Not to mention the 218 points, including 113 goals, that she recorded with the Canadian national team.
“All I wanted was to play hockey,” says the 58-year-old. I never thought that one day I would be a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Never. When you play hockey in the cold with the guys in Saint-Nazaire at 10 years old, you are far from thinking about that…”
And even after her magnificent career, she didn’t think about it. Moreover, when former Toronto Leafs and Calgary Flames Lanny McDonald, member of the hall of fame selection committee, called her to tell her the good news, she almost didn’t answer.
“It was a number I didn’t know. And when I finally answered and Lanny introduced himself, I didn’t understand anything. However, the emotion quickly took over and I cried. I was in shock.”
Danielle Goyette is now putting her expertise to work for the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Danielle says she was never impressed by individual honors. But this was different.
“I have always played hockey out of passion. The best rewards are team trophies, not personal stuff. But this was the Hall of Fame. That’s where the biggest ones are. It was in 2017 and I still pinch myself to see if it’s really true!”
Exceptional woman
Danielle Goyette will always have been a pioneer. After becoming the Leafs’ director of player development, she was the first woman behind the bench of an ECHL team, with the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers. Her journey will always be that of an exceptional woman.
“I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t proud of my journey. On the other hand, what makes me most proud is to have helped the progression of women’s hockey. When I was a little girl, I seemed like a nerd when I played hockey with the guys. Today, we no longer laugh at girls, we encourage them. We have come a long way, there is still more to do, but we are progressing at a good pace!”
Young hockey players from our area, don’t forget to say thank you if you come across her.
