Behind the lens: Hurricanes’ Perreaux captures unforgettable moments

Lethbridge, Alta.- Erica Perreaux is hard at work preparing for a long night at the Enmax Centre.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are hosting her hometown Brandon Wheat Kings, and she’ll put in grueling hours and thousands of steps traversing the rink, editing on the fly and cramming into uncomfortable positions in hopes of capturing the most meaningful, fleeting moments of the hockey game.

But whenever the going gets tough, the ‘Canes photographer just remembers the moment she was told to give it all up.

“I was told in 2009 that I would never make it in photography as a career,” Perreaux recalled of a nightmare experience searching for a summer job in Brandon. “I wake up every day. And it’s almost just like that’s right here beside me. That motivates me to prove that guy wrong.”

As you can probably guess, she’s done just that.

fin. #U18Nationals pic.twitter.com/HPogaJmdy6

— Erica Perreaux (@perreauxphoto) November 12, 2023

But long before she’d be called to shoot some of the biggest stages in hockey, she was just a teenager who had recently gotten a digital camera and enjoyed snapping shots at her brother’s hockey games.

“My brother (Carson Perreaux) played with Prince Albert for three years and I would just take my camera and sit in the stands and watch him play,” Perreaux explained.

There, she got a helping hand from local journalist Perry Bergson, who currently covers the Wheat Kings for the Brandon Sun.

“One day he was just like, ‘Hey, do you want to come use my camera for a period? And I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely. That’d be amazing,” Perreaux recalled. “So now I have a picture of like my brother and Leon Draisaitl playing together. So it’s kind of like a cool moment for that to be my first- I guess- real game by the glass. I owe a lot to him for guiding me kind of on what gear to get and how to start getting into more sports.”

Fast forward to her college and university days in Lethbridge, Perreaux reached out to Hurricanes Marketing and Community Liaison Kathy Hong to get her foot in the door as a graphic designer and photographer.

Her first game was the 2014 Teddy Bear Toss.

Since then, she’s been called to countless other major events on top of her duties with the Hurricanes (she joined the team on a full-time basis in the 2018-19 season).

• neon moon pic.twitter.com/jMzm02Uq2B

— Erica Perreaux (@perreauxphoto) October 28, 2023

“The U SPORTS Men’s Hockey Championship (was a highlight),” Perreaux said. “I had a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame and they’re like, ‘Hey, do you want to shoot the final?’ So that was really cool. A couple of years ago, I actually went to Toronto and got to see my picture in the Hall of Fame. It was just so surreal. I think that’s almost my favorite accomplishment to date because they came to me and it’s just a legendary organization.”

On the international stage, Perreaux has worked with Hockey Canada to cover the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, World Junior A Hockey Challenge, several national team camps, and even a few matches for the CFL’s BC Lions.

She’s even gotten up close and personal with the Stanley Cup, tailing Brandon product and family friend Zach Whitecloud’s day with the NHL’s top prize in 2023 and Joel Edmundson’s in 2019.

Still, covering junior hockey carries a certain kind of magic.

“Obviously, the Connor Bedard stuff last year,” Perreaux said with a laugh. “It was almost like half-and-half. You’re shooting the game, but then you’re shooting him a lot. Saw him in August for the World Juniors there too, so it was cool to see him on both stages. Then there’s Dylan Cozens (Buffalo Sabres) and Stuart Skinner, who we’ve had here. If you told me when I first started and Stewie was a rookie he’d be the Oilers’ starting goalie, I would just be like, ‘No, there’s no way, what are the chances!’

“I got his goalie goal photo, doing the fly-by. Little things like that are just so cool. It’s junior hockey but now it’s the stars of tomorrow that you’re capturing.”

Courtesy Erica Perreaux