Olympiques’ Gascon continues to make history
Eve Gascon is now part of the history books.
Only weeks removed from making her first career start that saw her become the third female to appear in a QMJHL game, the 18-year-old Gatineau Olympiques netminder was back between the pipes Friday, this time coming away with her first career victory following a 7-3 triumph over Drummondville.
The Terrebonne, Que., native made 23 saves in the win and was named the first star of the game for her impressive performance. With the accomplishment, Gascon joins one of her idols in Charline Labonte as the only other female to record a win in the QMJHL, who did so in February 2000 with Acadie-Bathurst.
“It would have been fun to see other women (beyond Labonte) playing in the league,” Gascon told Yanick Bouchard of 98.5 Montreal. “If I can give the chance to other young girls to do the same thing … Who knows if we can see other women in the QMJHL? It would be really fun. I will try to continue my journey to inspire other young girls.”
Making her second-ever regular season appearance Friday, Gascon noted the differences from her QMJHL debut earlier this season.
“I was not as stressed,” Gascon added. “I knew that I was going to perform better because there was less media attention.”
A trailblazer for young female athletes, Gascon had already made history in becoming the first female to play midget triple-A in Quebec and to later join the collegiate ranks as part of the men’s league with the St-Laurent Patriotes.
Learning of Gascon’s win on Friday, one of her mentors in Team Canada 2021 gold-medalist goaltender and Quebec native Ann-Renee Desbiens spoke about the younger’s development.
“I remember when I met her, I saw myself in her at her age,” Desbiens told Benoit Rioux of the Montreal Journal. “If I can make her journey easier by sharing my experience with her, I will. It is a duty for me to help her.”
In the same interview with Rioux, another Team Canada gold medalist in Melodie Daoust compared Gascon to Labonte, whom she played with as a member of the McGill Martlets and on the Canadian national team.
“She reminds me a lot of Charline with her style and her hard work,” Daoust detailed. “Eve has a mentality similar to that of Charline in terms of work ethic. She will go far, she has a good head on her shoulders, and she is also very humble.”