On Thursday morning, Kelly-Ann Nadeau met with Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie and general manager Danièle Sauvageau. In that meeting, she was told the team would be signing her to a standard player contract.
The path for Nadeau to her first PWHL game was long. The 26-year-old spent six years in University, including the season that the pandemic wiped out. To put it in perspective, her two first seasons at the Université de Montréal were alongside current Victoire teammates Catherine Dubois and Alexandra Labelle, who have four seasons of professional experience each before this season.
In a cruel twist of fate, it was Dubois’ upper-body injury that opened up the roster spot for Nadeau. Dubois was placed on long-term injured reserve, meaning she will be out of the lineup for a minimum of 21 calendar days.
“I was very excited,” Nadeau said after Friday’s practice during which her contract was officially announced. “It comes at the expense of a teammate, but I prepared for this and was waiting for my chance.”
Nadeau has been a reserve player up to this point in the season, meaning she does not have a regular salary (reserve players get a stipend), does not travel with the team, and is not eligible to play in games unless moved to the active roster. She was not drafted, and was invited to training camp with a chance to make the roster.
“When I got the invite, I showed up to camp with no expectations,” Nadeau said. “I was offered a reserve contract and was very happy with that since it is my first year in the league. I worked very hard over the last few weeks, was at every practice, was at every off-ice workout, I stayed on the ice after practices, when the team was on the road I made sure I was on the ice… I did everything to be ready for this moment.”
“It’s crucial to the success of our team. They make us better every practice,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie on the reserve players. “They do elevate and are supportive of the entire group even though they’re in a tougher situation. You get to smile when someone gets to be activated.”
Nadeau is a right-handed defender, and will likely be the seventh defender in Saturday’s lineup when the Victoire host the New York Sirens at Place Bell (2:00 p.m. Eastern | CBC, Tou.TV/Radio-Canada, YouTube). She had 11 goals and 29 assists in 110 career University games.
“She puts in so much work with our group,” said Cheverie. “She has that offensive flair and physicality that the league requires. We’re really excited for her to get an opportunity to play in a game and see what the pace is like.”
Nadeau is the second Victoire reserve player to be signed to the active roster this season. Fellow defender Catherine Daoust was signed to a contract when Amanda Boulier was out with an injury and played in one game. Nadeau will be the third USports player to make their professional debut this season, joining New York’s Emmy Fecteau and Toronto’s Rylind MacKinnon.
Even though Dubois, a forward, was added to LTIR, it was Nadeau – a defender – who was signed. The move was made because defender Anna Kjellbin missed practice all week with an illness, leaving the team with just six defenders before Nadeau was signed.
Another defender, Dominika Lásková, who has been on LTIR since the start of the season, took part in the full practice on Friday in a non-contact jersey.
“She’s getting close,” said Cheverie. “There are still some steps that she has to go through. She’s able to be with the group and engage so that’s awesome for us and awesome for her but still a few steps away.”
Lásková hasn’t played a game since last January.
Montreal is facing a New York team that gave them their only regulation loss of the season way back on December 4. The Sirens have only one win in their last five games, including losses in their last three games. They are not expected to have forward Alex Carpenter, who has missed the last two games and the Rivalry Series.
“We know that New York is going to be hungry for a win,” said Cheverie. “They’re a team that’s trying to get wins right now and that’s our mindset. We’re preparing to come in and be game ready and be ready as soon as the puck drops but we know that we’re going to play a pretty tough competitor on the other side.”
Montreal is currently on a five-game winning streak, including a win against New York in their last game on February 2.
