Only one Quebecer was selected among the 42 players drafted in the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Monday evening, and it was not the Montreal team that received this honor.
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Rather, it was New York which, with its last choice, in the sixth round, drafted forward Emmy Fecteau, two-time national champion with the Concordia Stingers.
“There were still some Quebecers who were on our list and once again, there is a question of opportunity, of ranks,” explained Danièle Sauvageau at a press conference on Monday, live from Saint Paul, Minnesota .
“I am happy that Emmy Fecteau was selected. She is a player who will play in this league. When we would have liked to select her, she was no longer there,” admitted the general director of Montreal.
The latter made her choice two levels earlier on defender Anne Wilgren, from the University of Wisconsin. As Sauvageau reiterated, Montreal needed reinforcements on the blue line and that’s why it chose three guards during the seven rounds of the auction.
It will be able to recover by granting contracts to independent Quebec players, as of June 21. Otherwise, there is always the possibility of issuing camp invitations.
A hat trick
Quebecer Pascal Daoust has come to dig in his backyard again. During the first auction of the LPHF, the CEO of New York had set his sights on three players from La Belle Province: Élizabeth Giguère (Clarkson and Minnesota-Duluth universities), Jade Downie-Landry (McGill) and Alexandra Labelle (Montreal).
“I’m happy to do the hat trick of the Montreal teams with Concordia,” said the former assistant of the Carabins of the University of Montreal. Emmy Fecteau is a winner, a leader, who deserved to be selected. We had to find a way to give him an opportunity in New York.”
Emmy Fecteau during the Canadian University Championship last March. Photo ELECTRIC UMBRELLA, LIAM RICHARDS
Training with Poulin and Stacey
The captain of the Stingers was also the only hockey player from the Canadian university network (USports) to be drafted, a pride and a disappointment at the same time for the 25-year-old Beauceronne.
“We are going to demonstrate that we can play in USports, present an excellent caliber and compete in a professional league. So far, the USports players have done a wonderful job in the LPHF. We will continue to prove that there is good hockey here, just like in the NCAA,” said Fecteau, wishing to continue in the same vein as that of the Quebecers in New York.
To achieve this, she will train again in Montreal this summer, notably in the company of Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey.
“I will be able to see what I have to do to play against them. I hope they will arrive ready because I will be ready to face them and stop them!” said Fecteau with confidence, who like the other representatives of the evening did not put on a team jersey, as is tradition, not even the one from the initial season.
