The Q for Everyone | Eve Gascon; making saves and waves
When Eve Gascon stepped on the ice as a member of the Gatineau Olympiques training camp squad in August, she represented only the sixth female to accomplish the feat in the QMJHL. By the time she departed at the end of pre-season, the goaltender had added not only another line to her hockey resume but further proof that her reputation as one of the best young athletes the game has to offer is a well-earned one.
Gascon grew up in and around the boys’ game, partly a reflection of the lack of access to leagues and teams exclusive to females at the time. Being the younger sister to two hockey-mad brothers certainly didn’t hurt, either. Those days of target practice served her well, as evidenced by a solid Under-18 stint in the AAA ranks with College Esther-Blondin. Bypassed in the QMJHL Draft twice, Gascon’s skills caught the eye of Olympiques’ Head Coach Louis Robitaille and staff, who extended an invite to camp.
It’s a sad but natural fact that what should be universally considered a shining example of inclusion driven by superior play, has been considered nothing more than a public relations stunt from some corners. This is a feeling dismissed by Robitaille and ignored by Gascon herself. Nor does it explain the Olympiques’ decision to call her up early in the regular season when Remi Poirier was briefly out of commission, making her just the third female player to appear on the game sheet for a regular season game it the “Q”. All that Gascon has achieved has been the result of merit earned through results and a tremendous support network.
One of those key sources of support is, in fact, the last young woman to appear in a major junior game. Charline Labonte spent the 1999-2000 campaign with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Several championships, Olympics success and countless memories later, one of Labonte’s current activities centers around making Gascon one of the next big names to cross the stage of women’s hockey.
Now plying her trade in the Cegep ranks with College St-Laurent’s men’s team, Gascon has nothing but positive memories of her “Q” experience. But she also has a couple of important missions ahead of her. One lays in wait in the United States, where she is set to enter the University of Minnesota-Duluth next fall. The other is to promote the many talented women that have elevated the quality of the game while encouraging the next wave of potential future stars to take their first strides towards a rewarding adventure on ice.
For just because Gascon has begun writing her chapter in history, she is keenly aware of the many stories yet to be told.