Rhyah Stewart set to become 1st female from Atlantic Canada to appear in a CHL preseason game tonight on CHL TV

Canadian Hockey League (CHL) fans will be treated to some history on CHL TV, where tonight, they will be able to see 16-year-old goalie Rhyah Stewart from Antigonish, N.S., become just the fifth female player in league history to appear in a CHL game (whether preseason or regular season).

Yesterday, the Cape Breton Eagles made it official when they announced that Stewart is expected to play tonight for the Eagles in their matchup against the Moncton Wildcats in Cape Breton. This preseason contest between two Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) clubs is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. AT and can be viewed by viewers worldwide for free on CHL TV. 

In order to watch tonight’s free live stream of the Eagles and Wildcats, fans simply need to either login or create a free account on CHL TV.

Fresh off competing with Team Canada’s Under-18 National Women’s Team in a series against the United States earlier this month in Lake Placid, N.Y. (where the 16-year-old earned a victory in her lone appearance in net), Stewart continues to add to an already impressive resume that she’s quickly built over her blossoming young career.

In addition to backstopping Team Nova Scotia to its first-ever medal in female hockey at a Canada Games this past March, Stewart has developed a knack for breaking barriers and achieving firsts for female hockey players from Canada’s east coast. Just last season, she became the first female to ever play for the Cape Breton West Islanders of the Nova Scotia Under-18 Major Hockey League – posting a 3.67 GAA and .899 SV% in 21 games with the club. The year before that, during the 2021-22 campaign, Stewart was also the first female goalie to ever play for the Cabot Highlanders of the Nova Scotia Under-16 ‘AAA’ Hockey League.

Then, fast forward to this week, by making good on an invitation to come out to the Eagles’ training camp, Stewart earned the distinction of becoming the first female player from the Maritimes to participate in a QMJHL training camp.

Tonight, Stewart hopes to join some elite company as she aims to see action in the QMJHL, which has developed a history of showcasing some of Canada’s best female goalies. Heading into Friday, there have only been three female goalies and/or players to play a game in the QMJHL. That list includes two-time World Champion Manon Rhéaume (one preseason game and one regular season game for Trois-Rivieres Draveurs in 1991), three-time Olympic gold medalist Charline Labonté (28 regular season games with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan from 1999-2001) and Ève Gascon (five preseason games and two regular season games with the Gatineau Olympiques from 2021-2022). During those appearances with Gatineau, Gascon played for head coach Louis Robitaille, who is now the bench boss in Cape Breton and will be leading the team tonight when Stewart seeks to take the ice.

With respect to the CHL, the only other female player and/or skater outside of the QMJHL to have played in a game is goaltender Shannon Szabados (four exhibition games and one regular season game for the Tri-City Americans in 2002). The three-time Olympic medallist was the first and remains the only female to have played in a WHL game. Szabados appeared in net for the Tri-City Americans during a regular season contest on September 22, 2002. She also appeared in a number of exhibition games for the Americans ahead of that season.

Thus, should Stewart find herself between the pipes for the Eagles tonight, she will not only become the fifth female to play in a CHL game, but given that Rhéaume (Québec City, Que.), Gascon (Terrebonne, Que.), Labonté (Boisbriand, Que.) and Szabados (Edmonton, Alta.) all hail from places outside of Atlantic Canada, the 16-year-old would also represent the first female from the Maritimes to ever see action in a CHL contest.