Antigonish teen to become 1st female to play in junior A hockey league

Rhyah Stewart is on the verge of making Nova Scotia hockey history.

The 17-year-old goalie from Antigonish, N.S., has signed with the West Kent Steamers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League and will become the first female to ever play in the league.

"Getting to play junior hockey might be challenging at times, but I think it will help push me to become better," said Stewart.

Stewart will only tend goal for the Steamers in Bouctouche, N.B., for one year because she has already committed to play for the University of Wisconsin for the 2025-26 season. Wisconsin is a perennial favourite in NCAA women's hockey and it's the same school where Canadian Olympian Blayre Turnbull of Stellarton, N.S., played.

The head coach and general manager of the Steamers knows a thing or two about playing junior hockey with a female on the team. When Olivier Filion played major junior hockey in Bathurst, N.B., Charline Labonté was one of the goalies on the team.

Labonté went on to an illustrious career playing for Canada's national women's team where she won two gold medals and three world championships.

Stewart is already on Hockey Canada's radar and has played for Canadian teams in international tournaments.

"I saw her play last year in a couple of tournaments so I knew that she was a good goalie," said Filion. "So I was comfortable in giving her the opportunity to play for us, and our fans are excited and we really can't wait to see her in the net for a game."

Filion said Stewart will begin the season as the team's backup goaltender, but should see at least 18 to 22 games of junior A hockey action before she heads to the U.S. college ranks next year.

If she plays well, she'll likely be tapped for more games. She's already played in three