The Toronto Sceptres have named Pascal Rheaume of Quebec City, Quebec as their new head coach according to the Associated Press on Wednesday. Rheaume takes over from Troy Ryan of Spryfield, Nova Scotia, who became the head coach and general manager of the PWHL expansion franchise in San Jose.
Pascal Rheaume is the brother of Canadian Olympic silver medalist Manon Rheaume of Beauport, Quebec. Manon Rheaume, who won the silver medal in women’s hockey at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, is the current general manager of the PWHL franchise in Detroit.
Rheaume was a former National Hockey League forward. He played centre and left wing. Rheaume played for six teams in nine seasons in the NHL from 1996 to 2006. He played for the New Jersey Devils in three different stints (1996-97, 2002-03, and 2005-06), five seasons for the St. Louis Blues in two different stints (1997-2001 and 2003-04), one season with the Chicago Blackhawks (2001-02), two seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers (2001-03), one season with the New York Rangers (2003-04), and one season with the Phoenix Coyotes (2005-06).
In 318 regular season games, Rheaume had 39 goals and 52 assists for 91 points. He was a -10 with 144 penalty minutes, 16 power-play points, four shorthanded points, four game-winning goals, and 378 shots on goal. Rheaume has prior head coaching experience at Sherbrooke College (2013 to 2015), and the Val-d’Or Foreurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (2018 to 2020).
