Welcome to Women’s Hockey Life (WHL) Female Powerhouse Spotlight! Where we highlight a former or current female athlete tackling the male-dominated industry! 💪🏒
This month we had the pleasure of talking to two-time Olympian and Manager of Corporate Sponsorships and Sales for the PWHL, Genevieve Lacasse!
©️ Heather Pollock Photography
Genevieve spent over 10 years playing at the highest level for Team Canada, as well as playing in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association. In October of 2023, she announced that she would be hanging up her skates and joining the front office of the newly formed Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Genevieve was born in Montreal, Quebec, but considers Kingston, Ontario her hometown. “I was born into a military family, so we moved around quite a bit. I have Kingston as my hometown because that’s where I lived from five until twelve, and then again from fourteen until seventeen.” It was in Kingston that she first discovered hockey. “I just went to a military activity fair, and we picked a sport or an activity for each season. I chose hockey because one of my good friends at school played hockey and I decided I wanted to try hockey too.”
As a kid, Genevieve was a fan of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Paul Kariya, but her favourite player was on a different team. “Growing up my favourite player was Martin Brodeur on the Devils, I just love the way he played goalie.” Nowadays, she’s a PWHL fan and her favourite player is her wife, Emerance Maschmeyer, a goalie for PWHL Ottawa.
Genevieve graduated from Providence College in 2012 with a degree in Marketing, before returning for her MBA. During that time she was playing with the Boston Blades of the CWHL, where she won two titles in 2013 and 2015. Also in that time, she took a year to prepare for the 2014 Olympic games, where she came home with a gold medal.
After completing her MBA and winning the Clarkson Cup with the Blades in 2015, she spent a season with the Calgary Inferno, before centralizing for the 2018 Olympics. She earned a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics and returned home, playing with Les Canadiennes de Montreal this time. Following the fold of the CWHL, she played three seasons with PWHPA Montreal, before finishing her career with Team Harvey’s of the PWHPA, winning the title.
“I always knew I wanted to do something in business, but I didn’t know it would be in sports. I was lucky enough to extend my career as long as I wanted to, and then last year I decided that was going to be my last. I started networking, trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do after. From there, I contacted Jayna (Hefford) telling her I was done playing and interested in working for the new league. I did a pre-hiring assignment and an interview and was hired a couple days before the draft.”
In terms of advice for those looking to break into the women’s hockey field, Genevieve says to get involved and network. “Go to a game, start meeting people, and get your name out there. You have to be a little open minded and be willing to learn.”
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Congratulations Genevieve on such a successful hockey career and thank you for all you are doing to grow the game! ❤️💪
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“All quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise indicated.
Featured Image ©️ Heather Pollock Photography
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