Manon Rheaume Living The Dream Tampa Bay Lightning!

Welcome to the Mike Hartman show. Mike is a performance coach and former Stanley cup champion with the New York Rangers. Topics on this show are focused around stories, mindset and champions. Mike will also go into details about helping you with your pain points and struggles and finding motivational solutions on how to have the mindset of a champion. Now, here's your host, Mike Hartman.

Welcome to another episode. Today my guest is Mano Rayon. Manon is a silver medalist hockey player that one of the first female, I think the first female hockey player to play organized professional hockey. I mean, that's at a high level. I personally know Mano. We go back a little bit, but no, it's so great to have you on our show.

Thanks for having me.

Oh, it's great. You know, you really have a great story. Our listeners would like to know just a little bit about you. Please share a little bit about your story, who you are, where you're from. We'd love to hear it.

Yeah. I'm from Quebec City and I grew up with two brother and a father that was a hockey coach. And when I was young, no other girls were playing organized hockey, so. But my brother always used me as a target at home. So I would be their goalie at home. My dad would used to play, make a nice drink in the backyard. And that's how I got started. And one day my dad needed a goalie for his team because none of the kids show any interest in playing the position for a tournament. So I told my dad, why not me? I'm doing it with my brother all the time. Why not at the rink? So that's how I got started to play ice hockey with all boys.

Oh, that's great. So you came out, you started playing with the boys. Was that intimidating or was that something that was like, I'm going to go out and play because I know my sister. We had an ice rink in the backyard in Detroit. I know that's where you are now in my hometown. So we grew up in Oak Park, Michigan, had the ice rink and I feel bad to this day. I have the most wonderful sister. She was a good athlete, softball player, tennis player. But we used to, my brother and I used to kick her off the outside ice rink so we could shoot pucks and she wanted to figure skate. So were the boys tough on you? Were they easy on you?

You know the, the thing, it's the first day when my dad said okay and brought me to the rink. He put helmet on me to make sure the parents and nobod knew that I was a girl because he wanted me to be judged from my performance and not the fact that I was a girl. So it's amazing to think that he had to go to that extent because no girls were playing. And after that, I started playing on the team and I was doing well. So the guys, the boys accepted me. I was part of the team.

So if anything, like, for me, I knew I never played goal and I was afraid of the puck. So. And I'm not going to say girls with the boys, I'm not going to get into that. But I mean, I was afraid of the puck as a kid. So you get in there, you're standing where you have players actually shooting a puck at you. In fact, my son played lacrosse, and they had that hard lacrosse ball and they don't wear any equipment in goal. And I said, you got to be crazy to play goal and lacrosse. Like, what made you stand in the goal? Because you have to have a lot of guts to do that.

I hear that all the time. That goalie has to be crazy to be in that. I guess I start playing goalie at such a young age. For me, it become a natural thing. It's no different than when you're a catcher and you got someone throwing the ball so hard at you or I just feel like I started so young that the way that you see the puck coming at you as a goalie, it's a little different than when you watch from the stand. Truthfully, now I watch the puck going and I'm like, really did. I was in the net right now facing that kind of shot, but from the angle of a goalie. When you grew up doing this as such a young age, I was never afraid of the puck. Actually, that's a position that I picked because I love the fact that you under a lot of pressure and that you can make a difference in the game. So I just loved it.

Okay, so you're playing goal, and did you go through the typical. Like, so. So personally, for me, I played house league in Oak Park. House league growing up as a kid. Then I finally made the travel team. That was great. Then my goal was to play AAA, and I finally made AAA at 13 years old, and I wasn't then. And then I finally worked my way up. And this is about you. How did you start? Did you start playing, like house league or did you start playing on your dad's team? Where did you start when you were young?

Yeah, I started playing on my dad's team with one of my brother, my younger brother. We're a year and a half apart. So one year we were together, the other year we were not. That's how I got started. And I play like they only had one level when we started. And then I started having fun and really like it and having some success. And they had the difference level. So the double A level was the top level. Then you we had double C. So I would go double A, double C and abc, which is totally different in Quebec. So I want to try out for the double A level. Like a lot of the player on my team wanted to try out there. And the first four times that I try out, people would tell my dad, don't bring your daughter to the training camp. We're not going to pick a girl at that level. But my dad brought me to the camp and I tried out. He never told me that they didn't want a girl, which I think is the best thing that he did because I went there, try out, didn't make the team, was disappointed, was hurt. But the next day I worked harder, asked my dad to come down in the basement and practice with me and my brother to play outside. So it really became a motivation every year that I was getting cut to get better. And finally, after four years of trying out and not making the top level, one of the coaches at the bantam level said to my dad, I'm gonna pick the two best goalie. I don't care if it's a male, female, I'm gonna pick the two best goalies. So not only I made that team, but I also play a lot of the big game. Because for four years prior to that, I did more than anybody else for training to try to make it to that level.

Wow, you're always. Yeah. Always had that competitive spirit. Now let me get this right. Did you play in the Quebec tournament that I hear you played in the peewee tournament or you played in a big Quebec tournament in one of the AAA levels?

No, I play. I was not at the triple A levels in a peewee tournament. That was the HP Wheat that I was getting cut. So I played the second level there. I was the first girl to ever play in the tournament. And actually they had to change the rule because a year prior me moving up to Pee Wee, they knew a girls were coming up and they had a rules in the tournament. Rules that says like a male players from a certain age is allowed to play in this tournament.

So.

So they changed the rule knowing that my team being from Quebec, you need to qualify to be able to make it to the tournament. So they knew that my team would have a chance to qualify. And sure enough, we qualified there. And I played three years in a row, believe it or not, because the third year, that's when in Quebec they changed the age group. So they brought back everybody to an age group before. So I ended up playing three year of Pee Wee and playing three year at the tournament.

Wow, that is, that, that's amazing. So we're gonna skip up a bunch of years and next thing you know, you know you're going through all this work your father puts in your equipment. We'll talk a little bit about your brother later. You know, he's a former NHL player and. But with you, you end up making the Olympic team.

Yeah. So along with playing with the professionally with the men after going to Tampa, I was also continuing with the national team. So in 92, the year that I played major a game in the major junior, I also went to my first world championship in 92 with Team Canada. And then after that I went to the Tampa Bay camp and I played pro for a few years. But I would come back in 94 to play for Team Canada and in 98, that's when the Olympics. So basically everybody had to move to Calgary. And your tryout was about the same from August to December. That's when we find out who made the team. It was a tryout period. So you think about it now, most of those Olympic team, they do a two weeks tryout and they do different events during the year to pick their teams. But for us it was from August to December. So it was one of the most amazing experience, but one of the most stressful few months leading up to the Olympics because you put all that time and energy and you don't find out until December if you're going to make the Olympic team.

Well, I understand that really well, because that, that same year that when you were at the. I don't remember what year that was, but I think in the.

It was in 98.

No, it was, yeah, might have. Yeah, 98. I think Ben Smith, the coach of the US team, asked me to get involved. He and Lou Vero asked me to get involved with, with their program. And then Ben Smith said, will you come up to Lake Placid and do some of your performance coaching here? Because we have a lot of women. We have like, there's like 25 left. And the way it works in the Olympics is you can only dress 20 and only 20 make the team. So we have to cut five. And it's very stressful So I went up to Lake Placid, worked with the women's Olympic team. They were talking to me. I'm not a psychologist, but I did performance work and having them focus on goals and. And I know how stressful it was because they were living in Lake Placid. They get a little bit depressed right before Thanksgiving. They're going with their families, and nobody knew if, you know, just in a short time after that, are they going to be part of the Olympic team? So I understand that stress. I lived it just for a short time. Not like you did, but it's really stressful.

Yeah. It's day in, day out. You show up every single practice. Like, think about it. When we were younger, tried to make a team. You may have, like two or three sessions on the ice, and then you find out if you make the team. For us, it was months and months that every day that you're in the weight room or on the ice, that you're being looked at, and every move you do, everything you do, you know that there. So it was like, mentally was the hardest thing, but at the same time, for me, like, that mental strength of the game, that was probably my biggest strength. And when I went to camp, I went there. It's like, just on focusing what I have to do. And the one thing that really helped me is I didn't watch what the other person was doing. I didn't watch, like, how the goalie was doing in the net. So if I was not in the net, I was on the. On the side of the net, you know, kind of making some movement or practicing something, because I didn't want to look at what the other goalie was doing. I just want to focus on my performance. And it really helped me to not put more pressure on myself.

That's. That's a great way to look at it because we. We. We do that. We. You tell people, hey, you have to get ready to play, and the only thing that you can control is yourself and what you could do. You can't worry about how well somebody else is going to play because you had that mindset. You were very focused on it. And then you pick up a silver medal, right? Yes, silver medal. Well, that's something to be proud of. I'm sure that's. Where's that metal now? It's probably in a safe somewhere, right?

It is in a safe somewhere. It's one of the coolest medal. Obviously, you know, we were going there for the gold. And after winning two World championship and the gold medal at The World championship, that was our goal. But, you know, going to the Olympics and coming back with the medal, they have so many athletes that would go to the Olympics and never come back with the medal. So to be able to come back with an Olympic medal around your neck, it was a. One of the most amazing moment, even if it was not the color that we wanted.

Right. But you've done. If you look back at your career, and I don't have to speak for you, I mean, sure, you, I mean, you know this, of course, but you've done so much and you've done something that out of like. So I used to do numbers. I'm not the smartest math guy, but sometimes I do these. I'm about mathematics and percentages. So back in the day when there were 21 NHL teams, there's. You get like 20 players on a team, so there's 400 players. Add a little bit, you got 450 players in the league, mostly Canadians, Europeans. Only 10% were Americans. So you have 40Americans and you do these numbers. Now I'm going to play with the numbers even more. Then we have the expansion team and, and we're told we're having part of Tampa Bay. I get picked up. They. I think they were mad they picked me up third pick overall in the expansion draft. I think when. As soon as I got there, Terry Chris said, you're not the guy that we really wanted. But make a long story short, they tell us, hey, we have Mano Ram coming in and she's the first girl goalie that, I mean, ever coming to an NHL training camp. And, and you could imagine back then the look on some of the players faces were like, okay. And then you get out there and it's like, wow, you know, you did phenomenal. Like, you have to share that experience with. With our listeners going to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Stanley cup champs this year. But tell us a little bit about, about that experience.

Yeah, so when I got invited there, I remember a lot of people said to me, are you not afraid to look bad out there? You don't have the experience. And most of those guys that's going to go there, they only inviting you because you're a girl. And I said to myself, so many times, people said no to me because I was a girl. I said, if this time they give me a chance for that reason, I'm going to take that chance. Because at the end of the day, I still have to perform out there, and that's what's going to matter. My performance on the ice. And I remember we started with that mini camp and right away with a tournament game, no practice. That was our first day on the ice. And my first time on the ice, I did not allow any goal in 14 shots. My team won. And I remember having a press conference right after. And I'm sitting there and that's when Phyllis Buzto announced with the way she played today, you may see her in an exhibition game. And I remember my heart started beating so fast because going to the camp, I never thought in a million year that I would be playing an exhibition game. I thought I'll be like any young goalie or players rookie. You show up at camp, you're there for a week, one maybe or two, have a chance to play an exhibition game, that's it, you're going back home to your junior team. So that kind of like how I prepare myself going there. So when they announced that, you know, obviously it was an amazing experience. And a lot of people after that said, oh, she only played an exhibition game because she was a girl. But the reality is Tampa would never put me in an exhibition game if I didn't have a good camp before that. Like they would have not done that. So I had to perform. But nobody really talked about that. They talked about the fact that I was a girl, but not the fact that I did perform in camp. And that gave me that start for an exhibition game.

Well, I could tell, I could share this with you because I'll be the first to vouch for you because I was there firsthand. I was there that night that you played and, and I, and I. This is how I, how I looked at it. You played amazing in the games and next thing you know, everybody's coming around and you're always going to have the naysayers. I can't stand the naysayer. I can't stand the negative naysayers. But you were there. Like some people were saying, oh, she took somebody's position, a college player, junior. But it doesn't matter. You were there and you prove that, that you could play. You played with the best guys in the world. And not only that, correct me if I'm wrong now I have a. You know, sometimes I got hit in the head a few times, but I think, I think they put you in. In the third period or the second period.

First period.

Oh, the first period. But they. We were playing against St. Louis.

Yes.

And they had Brett hall, the hardest shot in hockey. McInnes the hardest slap shot in hockey at over 110 miles an hour or whatever he had back then. I'm thinking, oh, my gosh. So, you know, they're just not going to. They could have put you in any game because we had different games in different places. So if anyone would ever say that, I would say, ah, I don't think so. Do you think they would put her in? When you have the two hardest shot, hardest wrist shot in hockey, Brett hall, and you have, I mean, the quickest release, and I remember he had a good shot on you. That's how I re. I could know you're saying, how the heck. I remember he came down and you made a save on him. And I also remember, you know, playing against McInnes and I'm not sure if he got any shots away, but I mean, I know, you know, with those two guys, it's amazing. In fact, the funny McKinnis story was I was playing for the Sabres and we had Kevin McGuire line up and we were lined up at the face off. And you never wanted Brett hall to shoot or McKenna's. So I told Brett, I told Kevin McGuire to you line up on my side, but go to the point. So it looks like we're switching. You know, you're trying to do a little switcheroo. I mean, you understand that I'm not sure if everybody. He goes out there and Al McInnis does a one timer and breaks his ankle. And I never felt bad. So the point is you're dealing with the hardest shots in hockey. And that's something that you should be proud of the rest of your life.

And what you guys didn't realize too, it's the shoulder pads that I was wearing in camp. It was the same shoulder pads that I wore when I was pee wee because I never really grew that much more. And it was cloth shoulder pads. And I remember showing up in my locker room at camp and they had those big, huge, bulky shoulder pads waiting there for me. And I tried them on and I couldn't even move. I'm like, no way I'm wearing this. I'm wearing my little shoulder pads that I can move with. I had bruise all over my body the entire camp. And I remember the trainer had to add padding to my shoulder pads every single practice in every game. So at the end of the training camp, I had like all kind of different padding on my shoulder pads.

Well, you earned. I think you went to Atlanta, right? Didn't you go down and spend some time in Atlanta? So that's, that's.

I spent a full year there and then the following year I played like an east coast hockey league. And that's when I started playing more game and but what they said to me, they were so impressed the way I perform in camp without the experience of all the other guys has been playing four year of major junior. And one of the reason why I didn't play four year the major junior after my year Bentham AAA when they invite all the goalies to the midget triple A training camp that's a step below major junior. They said no to me because I was a girl. So I had to take a different path to go back to major junior and I had to go play with a woman league that was in Montreal. They were two and a half hours away from my house. And because we were women, the game were at 10:30 at night, 11:00 clock at night, 11:30 at night. So I would come back home like at 3 or 4 in the morning. But that was my only way that I can stay, you know, playing the game. But we were only skating twice or three times a week. So for a few years that's what I did until Gaston Dropo, the coach of the Drabar I was watching my brother play in midget AAA sitting there and he said hey, I saw you guys game against team Quebec against Ontario and you were amazing. And he started talking to me about the player on his team. And I said oh, I play with him, I play with him, I play against this guy. And he looked at me and he said would you want to come and practice with us to see what you can do? I said absolutely. And I went back home. Remember telling my mom, I'm not going to school on Monday, I'm going to Torvia, I'm going to practice for with the drava. And when I went there I had a great practice. He was really impressed and invite me to camp the following year. But at that point I'm like 20 year old, I'm older, you know, I didn't. If I would have got that chance a few years earlier I would have got the same experience than other guys had got invited to an NHL camp. I just had to take a different path.

I agree, you know, and it's. And I share. I'm a big fan of yours in a way where. Because I envied what you did because people really don't, don't know how hard it really is. And yeah you do have people that say these. There's a lot of negative people in the world. I think people thrive off of negativity. Sometimes, but I'll share this with you. So just like recently, you know, they put the kid in, in Toronto and he ends up playing in the. Period. Hey, all power to him. But, you know, the defense in the NHL are so strong, and I'm taking nothing away from the player that played for the Hurricanes. I think it's great. I'm happy for somebody like that. He gets in there and they're told, okay, you got to play a really strong. You're almost playing like guys back, and you're clogging up the neutral zone and you're making it hard, and there's ways to do it, so. And you don't get a lot of great quality shots in the NHL. I mean, if you're a player, you don't see so many great quality shots you actually played just thrown out in the game. Like, not just like when you come in, when you're thinking about it. I guess the point is, if you get thrown in and there's these emergency backup goalies, which I don't know if I really believe in it. I think the team should have three goalies because it's just. It's not as it appears to me. But you were actually knowing you're going to play. That's the anticipation of knowing you're going in, you're playing the St. Louis Blues. That had to give you a pit in your stomach.

It was like. I was probably the most nervous I ever been in my life. The walk from my locker room to the ice, I thought, like, my heart's gonna come out of my chest. But the most amazing thing, it's when I. I stepped on the ice. And that's why I knew that this is like the game that I'm so passionate about. And I love playing the game. It's. As soon as I stepped on the ice, it's like the butterfly went away. And I got into the game, I was not thinking, oh, I'm here playing for Tampa bay, because the St. Louis Blues, it's an NHL game. Like, I just went into the game and do what I needed to do. It's to stop the puck. And I remember we started right away on. They got a power play right away. And I'm thinking to myself, really, that's how we're gonna start the game. But it was probably the best thing because I got a few shots right away and I got into the game. And after that, I would have to say it's probably the quickest 20 minutes of hockey I ever played because I was just, like, enjoying Every single moment of it.

And that's a great, great story. So I'm sure I, maybe I would have looked at. I mean, it's easy for me to say, I'm sitting here. I just told you in the beginning that I'm afraid to step in front of a shot and goal. Anyways, I'd block a shot playing. But. But I, but I would have maybe approach to say, okay, now, my brother, now at that time he wasn't an NHL player. I know he was working his way in with St. Louis, I think. But hey, you know, it's like being in the basement with my brother. He used to fire pucks at me. And I'm sure, you know, my father used to get mad. My brother was four years younger and I used to have that orange ball and I'd fired at my brother and my father said there better not be a mark on him when you're done playing. So I'm sure your brother fired shots at you to prepare you for a little bit bit.

Actually, I have to thank my dad for all of that because when the day at the dinner table that I said to him when I was about 5 years old, why not me? I remember him saying, okay, well, go down in the basement and until I take you to the first practice every day, I'll shoot pucks and just getting you ready. And one of the first few shots he shot on my shoulder, I went down and I start complaining that the puck hurt. And he said to me, get used to it. He said, if you want to do some netting, it's not going to hurt. But if you're going to play hockey, sometimes the puck's going to hurt, so get used to it. And at that moment I knew that if I wanted to do this, it's not going to always be easy and I'm going to need to be tough. And I really, really changed like that mindset and that's how I become tougher. And I was able to face all those adversity in front of me because I really wanted to play this game.

That's so awesome. And so what advice, like, going into it, what advice would you give young boys and girls today?

I would say if you're passionate about something and you work hard, you can accomplish anything you want. And you don't need to fit a mold of what you should look like. Like, actually, I was probably the total opposite of what NHL goalie should look like. My size. I was a female and I speak French, which was really tough in camp because my English was not Very good. And not only you going to a training camp with all men ten times the size of yourself and you get there and everything is in English. So mentally it was so draining to just trying to translate the little English that I know and understand everything and then dealing with the media. So. But I had a passion for the game and I never give up.

So now, now I have a. I try to remember back. We're going back to 92. Right. So I'm thinking back, but I do remember that Wayne Cashman's daughter and Phil Esposito's daughter may have taken you around and looked after you and made. And I'm sure Phil made sure that you were in good hands. Because I want to believe that because every time I looked, I think I saw you with Phil Esposito's daughter.

Yeah, actually she had to go and take me shopping before the game because I never thought I would play an exhibition game and you guys all had suit on to go to the game. But I'm like, I didn't have anything. I never bought like a woman's suit or something that would work for her game like this. So they took me shopping to make sure I had clothes to go to the game like everybody else.

That was. That's great. So those are the little things like we call it with behind the curtain or the backstories that nobody really gets to see. So, so, so looking back, would you have done anything differently? You know, you've done a lot. I mean, you won a silver medal with Canada, you played with boys, you played junior. I mean, it's unheard of. I mean, there's only a few of you in the world. I mean, what I think, I think that's amazing. But would you done anything differently?

I don't think so. I would not change anything. I think that what I'm so happy is every time I got an opportunity, I went for it. I never let the fear of. Of embarrassing myself or the fear of taking a risk. And I wanted to make sure that I would never had regrets. I didn't want 10 years from now and said, what if I would have take this opportunity? And I think today I'm so glad of that. And that's why I'm trying to share with people when I do speak engagement, it's taking the risk. It's worth it. The worst thing that could have happened, it's me going to camp, not having a good camp. And if I didn't have a good camp, they would have never put me in an exhibition game. And people would have say, see, that was just, you know, she's a girl. She didn't belong there. But the other side, it's. I was able to have a great camp, get an opportunity to play in the exhibition game. I did well during that game, and it changed my life.

It sure did. And looking back, it's like, you know, there's players that don't get that opportunity because they don't play well. I mean, you actually played well. You earned it. You did it. And one thing. But no, nobody could ever take that away from you. And there's always going to be naysayers, jealous people, negativity. But you've said this word about six times, and it's right in our. If you read our, you know, it's called the Mike Hartman show, but it's stories, mindset and champions, and you fit in all three categories. But you said that word mindset a lot. And, and that would probably lead me to a little bit about what you're doing today. Just share with everybody, because I know what you're doing, but I want to please tell everybody what. What are you doing nowadays?

Yeah. So I'm here in Michigan and I do with the Detroit Red Wings youth program. I'm in charge of the girls hockey, so I coach one of the team and oversee the rest of the program. I also do speaking engagement, which I love to share my story and continue to inspire people. And also working on a children book with Angie Bolero that's coming out in October. She is the one that wrote a script for a movie they're doing about my story. But also she wrote the children book. So I'm excited about that because I'm hoping that, you know, we already are having some review of the children book and a lot of people said this is not just a hockey story. It's a story for everyone that wants. Has dreams and want to get somewhere and never give up. And so it's really cool to. To hear those things because that's what I want to do. Like, if I say the most satisfying part of what I did, it's my story was able to inspire people and that make me feel good.

That is great. And I. And I think we should. It's. The good news is on this podcast, it's attached to this, so people will be able to click on the link and go right over to your book. But where do you have. Do you have a website or do you. Where can we get the book? Or we're just a little bit. You're not we don't. We shouldn't talk about that so quick. We'll probably just let people know when we can get the book correct.

Yeah, like it's right now it's on pre sell everywhere, like on Amazon and so many different places. I think Target.com and Walmart.com and it's pre order right now. And it's coming out in October over.

So I recommend everybody. And again, this is not a sales show. People know me. I have different athletes on. We had Nick Kyprios, who's a great friend of mine, former teammate, junior teammate, Stanley cup, he was never drafted. He's got a great story and this is another fantastic story. And I highly recommend everybody read it. Everybody understands how hard it is to make it. You listen to some of these pros talk about what they had to do to make it. But imagine being different than everybody else and making it. And I know, I want to hear just really fast, tell us about your kids. Because you people are going to ask me, hey, does she have kids that play hockey? And I know you have a couple kids that play hockey.

Yes. My oldest one is at Notre Dame right now. He played at USA for two years with the NTDP and went on to Notre Dame. So hopefully they're going to start playing hockey soon this year. And my youngest one is playing AAA hockey here, benta major. So they're both like really involved in hockey. They both started to do both goalie and player when they were younger. And my oldest one picked goalie and my youngest one is a defense.

Oh, fantastic. So again, I'm going to tell everybody, go out, buy this book. You know, this is something that we could save. Manon, it was so great having you. Thanks for being on the show. You're an inspiration to everybody to, for, for our young athletes, for businesses. Thank you again for being here. It's been a pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

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