As much as fans might have loved to keep PWHL Montreal’s No. 25 in the lineup next season, it won’t be the case and she won’t be back. A hockey player’s career is never as long as one would like. With a physical sport like hockey, there are a lot of bumps and bruises along the way, and if you’re unlucky, you get hit for even worse ailments. Only the athlete knows when it’s time for them to retire. It’s a personal decision and when the time has come, it has come. At 36, Ann-Sophie Bettez has already said she’s not ready to hang them up, but yesterday afternoon, at the ripe old age of 32, Melodie Daoust called time on her career.
A Decorated Career
Daoust has played for several teams over her storied career; the Montreal Stars, McGill University, Les Canadiennes, Team Canada Junior, Team Canada, Team Scotiabank, and finally PWHL Montreal. Over the years, she has repeatedly tasted success; she’s won a gold medal at the World Junior Championship and a silver medal as well, and she’s won gold and bronze medals at the World Championship. She competed in the Olympic Games three times, winning two gold medals and a silver. At the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, she was named to the All-Star team, but she also was the tournament MVP gathering three goals and four assists as Team Canada claimed silver. She was also named tournament MVP at the 2021 World Championship.
At her last Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022, she was injured in Canada’s first game against Switzerland when she was checked hard into the boards. She only came back in the semifinal which was also disputed against the Swiss. Even though she couldn’t play in the previous games, the RDS coverage of the event at the time mentioned that she was high-fiving every one of her teammates on their way to the ice in a custom way. It was her way to motivate the team even though she couldn’t play and it highlights what Daoust liked most about the game, as she mentions it herself in her retirement letter, the camaraderie.
A Desire to Give Back
In 2022, Daoust and her partner Hanna Bunton were hired by the College Bourget in Rigaud to coach their brand-new girls’ hockey teams in an elite program set up just like the American prep schools. Explaining her motivation to take on the role, Daoust explained:
[From the original French] What I really want to accomplish, is to allow young female players to develop here, in Quebec. I believe I can have an impact not only on their sporting career but also on who they are, and on their personality. To be able to lend a hand in their life choices speaks to me greatly.
After two seasons with the program, she knows what it’s like and is happy with what her hockey life will be going forward. It’s furthermore a wonderful way for her and her partner to give back to the sport that has given them so much.
One Last Team
Unfortunately for the PWHL, her commitment to Bourget and the will to care for her son Matheo meant she couldn’t be a regular player in the league’s inaugural season. Still, she had told Montreal’s general manager, Daniele Sauvageau, she would have liked to be a reserve player for her team. Which is exactly what she was this season. She was there at Montreal’s home opener, not to play, but just to be introduced along with her teammates, and she received one of the loudest cheers.
She got back to her coaching job and when Montreal needed reinforcements and her commitment to Bourget allowed, she was there with the team. When she got her first 10-day standard player agreement with Montreal, Daoust could not ever remember how long it had been since she had played competitive hockey:
Good question, I think I can’t remember [laughs] I think my last game was in our former league [PWHPA showcases] but even then, I didn’t play much during that season because every time I had my son, I didn’t play. Once again, it was a lot of fun to be back on the ice today.
Yet, it looked like she had played the day before; she was quick and sharp skating alongside Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey on the first line. Even though it had been years since the three had played together, it felt like they all knew exactly where the other two were at all times.
Related: PWHL’s Inaugural Season Wrapping Up & Previewing the Playoffs
In that first game, Daoust scored her first career goal in the PWHL and she added two more goals and two assists in the six games she played in the league, falling just short of a point-per-game season.
Even though both the league and the fans would have liked to see more of her this season, at least she got to play in this first real professional league in North America, and that’s something that won’t ever be taken away from her. She was there and was a part of this new beginning.
It’s not time to be sad for Daoust, she’s moving on and forward with her post-playing career; coaching. I’m sure one day, during a future PWHL award show, a winner will thank her in her acceptance speech, and that will be just as gratifying as scoring goals and assists for Daoust. Who knows, perhaps one day we’ll even see her behind the bench of a PWHL team calling the shots, stranger things have happened. Thank you for the memories Daoust, you’ve been great.
