Émilie Castonguay continues to break down barriers. The Vancouver Canucks announced Monday that she had been named assistant general manager, becoming the second woman to hold the position in NHL history, following Angela Gorgon with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 1996-97.
According to our information, Castonguay had been in discussion for a little over a week. The Canucks cared so much about her that Rutherford offered her the job, without even interviewing her. Another sign that they didn’t want to lose her: they hired her before they had even found a replacement for Jim Benning as general manager – Rutherford is the team’s president and occupies the role of D.-G. on an interim basis.
“Émilie has extensive experience, she is determined to succeed and has a solid reputation in the hockey world because of her intelligence and her work ethic,” Rutherford said in a press release. She will play a predominant role in the management and negotiation of player contracts, in the management of the collective agreement, and her voice will be heard in all aspects of hockey operations. She will be an important member of our leadership team and we are happy to welcome her to Vancouver.”
New start
The 37-year-old woman therefore leaves her job as an agent with Momentum Hockey, where she notably represented Alexis Lafrenière, of the New York Rangers. His partner, Olivier Fortier, will therefore become the main shareholder of the company.
“It is not a surprise. We suspected that she would be solicited because of her skills and her ambition, mentioned Fortier in an interview with the Journal. It’s been a while since she got the call and we talk several hours a day to discuss what she was going to do. I am very proud of her. She is a pioneer who is making history.”
Fortier has worked hand in hand with Castonguay for the past eight years. He had a ringside seat to see the rise of his partner who, thanks to her competence and her character – she was nicknamed “Tiger” internally since she did not hesitate to get her claws out at the right time – has succeeded in earning the respect of a world composed mainly of men.
“Émilie has been a leader everywhere she has been, whether it’s with us or in her playing career at the University of Niagara where she was captain of her team. She’s a girl who doesn’t let herself be stepped on. She has earned the respect of the men in the industry because she is competent, she knows what she is doing and she knows a lot about hockey. It didn’t take long for her to earn everyone’s respect.”
Fortier also assures that the departure of Castonguay will have no impact on the clients of the Momentum Hockey agency.
“Our internal structure ensured that Émilie and I were involved in all files from A to Z. I will therefore continue to operate the files as I did and it will be an opportunity for our other members to take on more responsibility. . At the end of the day, we’re just very proud of her.”
Good negotiator
With Momentum Hockey, Castonguay counted among its clients Lafrenière, Antoine Roussel, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Cédric Paquette and Jakob Pelletier.
“I still remember our first meeting,” said Pelletier. You could see that she was a strong woman, who had character. She knew where she wanted to take her clients. She always managed to get what she wanted because she negotiated every little detail for us.”
Castonguay’s name had been mentioned many times in recent weeks during the selection process for a new general manager with the Montreal Canadiens. Castonguay, however, was not one of the 11 candidates met by Geoff Molson and Jeff Gorton in this process, according to what has been learned.