Female QMJHL goaltender Rhyah Stewart defies all odds during MHL game

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Daniel Lucente
September 23, 2024 (8:03 PM)

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Female goaltender Rhyah Stewart was drafted by the QMJHL's Cape Breton Eagles and earned a shutout in one of her recent MHL games.

Rhyah Stewart, 17, of Antigonish, N.S., is making history this fall as one of the first females to play in the Maritime Junior Hockey League. A talented puck stopper, Stewart signed a contract in late August for the upcoming season with the West Kent Steamers based out of Bouctouche, N.B.

It will be a short stint with the Steamers, as she's already committed to play with the University of Wisconsin for the 2025-26 season. Wisconsin does stand as a powerhouse in NCAA women's hockey, and Stewart is not the first elite Nova Scotian to head to the university. That distinction belongs to Olympian Blayre Turnbull.
Stewart has also attracted the attention of Hockey Canada, having represented her country in international tournaments.

She will dress this coming season as the backup goaltender but is projected to play at least 18 to 22 games for experience before moving on to the U.S. college hockey ranks.

In fact, for Stewart, coming to Bouctouche will mark the first time she has been away from home, a big change for the young athlete. Roughly three hours away from her hometown, with so many teams based in Nova Scotia, there will continue to be a plethora of opportunities for her family to see her play closer to home on road games. That opportunity came last night when Stewart earned a 29-save shutout in her MHL debut.

Rhyah Stewart will join the very few ladies who have played in the league since its inception; the first being goaltender Lisa Herritt, who played with the Maritime Junior Hockey League during the 1995-96 season. For Stewart, it's the next great chapter in her life, one that positions her exceptionally well to inspire a new generation of young ladies breaking hockey barriers.