Lauriane Rougeau | The end of a great career, the beginning of another

The summer that Lauriane Rougeau has just spent could have been that of any professional hockey player. We won’t say the same about his fall return.

After playing in the playoffs in a Toronto Scepters uniform despite breaking her wrist in two places, she underwent surgery and followed her rehabilitation plan to the letter. Returning home for the off-season, the Montrealer resumed training in Verdun, at Center 21.02, with players from the region.

Even though she had not yet signed a new contract, the defender was invited to participate in the Scepters training camp in November.

Nothing to report, therefore… apparently. Because discreetly, almost secretly, Rougeau was thinking about his future on the ice. Only a few people knew – not even her parents – that she was seriously considering hanging up her skates.

She had a long discussion with Gina Kingsbury, general manager in Toronto. She informed him that a hockey operations manager position had been created in the organization. The player asked her not to fill it right away. The response didn’t take long.

“I called her in September to tell her that I was arriving as an employee and no longer as a player,” says Rougeau on the phone.

At 34, and after an international career that took her twice to the Olympic Games and five times to the World Championships, she decided that it was time to move on.

Already, last year, she had to wait until the end of the camp in Toronto before signing a one-year contract, at the minimum salary provided by the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF). She played in all of her club’s games, but her ice time was that of a support player. Even more so after a major surgical procedure, she noticed that it would be “difficult to break through the training”.

“I am at peace with my decision,” she assures. I accomplished everything I wanted. I went to the Olympics, I played professionally… I’m ready to take the next step. »

Sans regret

It is “without any regret” that she bows out. “I had a lot of fun,” she says, despite a few “dark moments.”

In this last category, she classifies the unexpected end of the Canadian League, in 2019, at a time when it was aligned with the Montreal Canadiennes.

The years that followed were marked by uncertainty, as hundreds of players found themselves without a league. There was the Professional Players Association tour for three years, complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that time was marked by a strong feeling of insecurity. “We didn’t know if we could continue playing,” summarizes the defender.

Then finally came the LPHF. Rougeau tried his luck there and was able to play the entire inaugural campaign. It was, she sees today, the icing on the cake.

“Of course there were ups and downs, but I’m proud to have continued and to have taken part in the first season of the league,” she confirms.

However, it was expected that a strong turnover of players would take place in the circuit, with the arrival of new blood from the university ranks. In 2023-24, only six athletes in the league were born in 1990 or earlier. Among these, Rougeau and Gigi Marvin (Boston) announced their retirement, Johanna Fallman (New York) returned home to Sweden, and it is not yet known if Ann-Sophie Bettez (Montreal) will play the next season, so as she recovers from major knee surgery.

Lauriane Rougeau nevertheless withdrew without bitterness and without the impression of having been shunned because of her age. “It’s the reality of hockey,” she believes. There aren’t many teams, even if they talk about expansion. After university, the players still have several years ahead of them. I think the age will go up a bit over the next few seasons. Girls like Marie-Philip Poulin will be playing for a long time to come! I was at that stage in my life. »

When she looks back on her career, she spontaneously names the Sochi Games as the most memorable moment. Because the tournament ended with a gold medal, but also because of “the way we won”. “It was my childhood dream,” she emphasizes. I can say that I achieved it. I am a lifelong Olympian. »

When asked about the individual feat she is most proud of, she doesn’t hesitate for a second: the goal she scored in the third overtime in March 2012 while playing for Cornell University.

“There’s a clip on YouTube!” », she tells us straight away.

The sequence is indeed worth the detour. In the quarter-final of the national championship, against Boston University, Rougeau took advantage of a disjointed play at his club’s blue line to escape with the disc, cover the entire ice rink, confuse the defense and outwit the opposing goalie with a backhand shot… while falling. All this under the eyes of Marie-Philip Poulin, who played at the time for BU.

“I’m also capable of making lace!” », Adds the one who, after graduating from Cornell, was mainly recognized for her defensive responsibility.

Watch the sequence

Learning

Arriving in Toronto at the beginning of October, Lauriane Rougeau is already immersed in the tasks related to her new job. With a colleague, she is responsible for planning in detail the daily lives of the players who will arrive at training camp in a few days.

She sees this assignment as a first step in a management career in hockey, a goal she has been aiming for for a long time. Holder of a master’s degree in sports management, she does not hide her dream of one day being appointed general manager of a professional franchise.

In the short term, she wants above all to “learn as much as possible”.

She also found a mentor in Gina Kingsbury, her new boss. The two had briefly crossed paths when Rougeau was still a member of the national team, but it was really during the last year that they bonded.

“It’s one of the main reasons why I came to Toronto,” she says. She is an excellent leader. Bringing people together and getting the best out of them is innate to her. »

So here is the new retiree, busier than ever in her adopted city. ” In [son] heart”, Montreal remains immovable. But for now, the future seems very bright for her in the Queen City.

Quietly, she enjoyed a long and successful career on the ice. Who knows if, one day or another, her new functions will not bring her back to the metropolis as a leader?