BY Felix Laliberté
Jessymaude Drapeau, a player on Concordia University’s Stingers hockey team, sees women’s sports thriving thanks to motivated young athletes.
“Young girls can have some female idols and envision themselves pursuing a hockey career,” she explains.
Her sports experience began with hockey, which she has played since early childhood.
“It’s been, I think, more than 20 years. I started at six years old, played with the boys until 14 years old and then I played at home. I left at 15 to play in Drummondville with only girls. And then I played in CEGEP for three years in LaSalle, and then it’s my sixth year at university,” Drapeau says.
Regarding her career objectives, she said she hopes to be drafted into the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) next year.
It’s a good time to aim to go pro. According to Canadian Women & Sport, the professional market for women’s sport is projected to grow from $380 million in 2025 to nearly $570 million by 2030. This signals a significant growth in investment in this area.
A look into the market size of female sports. Graph by Felix Laliberté.
Drapeau has begun coaching several female youth hockey teams. She has noticed a growing enthusiasm for professional hockey, and she is hopeful that many promising young athletes will come from these teams. There is clear upstream potential for female hockey in Canada.
The growth in knowledge of kinesiology and mental health, and its more widespread practice on the ice, is allowing for better results and a much more successful field for young athletes according to head coach Julie Chu.“They only talk about the [Women’s Hockey League]. They have female idols nowadays, and it’s pretty special to witness that,” Drapeau adds.
Stingers female players in action on the ice. Photo by by Félix Laliberté.
Her experience is defined by resilience and perseverance when faced with challenges. Drapeau has learned not to back down when faced with hardships.
The athlete said her experiences being cut from teams at a young age taught her the importance of persistence and continuous improvement. She encourages young athletes to “never give up.”
Women’s sports have grown significantly at both the youth and professional levels.
“It’s been an exciting time for growth,” says Stingers head coach Julie Chu.“This increased visibility allows girls to see themselves have a career in professional sport.”
The role of universities has been pivotal in helping young female athletes develop and become more successful.
“It’s made a difference in their ability to compete and to perform at a high level. But it’s also made a difference in their ability to enjoy what they get to do,” Chu explains. “So I think for us, we’re always trying to provide our student athletes with the best resources possible, for sure on the hockey side.”
Coach Julie Chu At Play. Photo by Félix Laliberté.
Chu rejoices when reflecting on the progress made in women’s professional sports.
“Injection of pioneers like Caitlin Clark, Angela Reese, have brought visibility at the highest level,” Chu explains.
She is hopeful that the new public\private model of female sports funding in Canada will allow the field to grow even further.
“We have to trust those who own the leagues and who are in charge of helping them progress, resources have grown a ton from when I started in the 1990s,”Chu says.
The creation of youth teams in Quebec has contributed to make professional sports more accessible and better developed across the province.
Stingers female players gather on the ice. Photo by Félix Laliberté.
Lynn Deschamps runs a neighbourhood hockey league. She’s noticed the growth of women’s sports as well.
“I think that the arrival of teams such as Les Victoires or Les Roses has made a difference because young girls can see themselves in them, the players proudly wear their jerseys and play ice hockey,” Deschamps explains.
She believes there has been a shift towards a more ambitious view of sports practice for the public. “In my youth, we played sports for our own enjoyment without the ambition of making a career out of it,” Deschamps explains.
There are six women’s soccer leagues across Canada: Halifax Tides FC, Montreal Roses FC, Ottawa Rapid FC, AFC Toronto, Calgary Wild FC, and Vancouver Rise FC.
Stinger’s goalkeeper in action. Photo by Félix Laliberté.
Dr. Lou St-Pierre, a researcher at the Laboratory for the Advancement of Women in Sports at Université Laval, asserts that the field of women’s sports is progressing at a phenomenal rate.
Despite this recent progress, St-Pierre notes that the field of sports generally remains male-dominated. However, this is changing rapidly. The number of women in team sports is growing at an annual rate of four per cent, reaching 56 per cent of all participants in 2024.
Drapeau hopes to join the ranks of pro athletes after she graduates. Following that she aims to help other athletes thrive by supporting their mental health.
“I’ve played hockey for over 20 years, and I find that mental health is what matters most for progress,” Drapeau says. “Visualization and self-talk are very important.”
