With the PWHL Draft today, the fate of where the Concordia standout will play next season is up to fate.
With the PWHL Draft today, the fate of where the Concordia standout will play next season is up to fate.
Rosalie Bégin-Cyr is ready to turn pro. Whether or not that’s in the PWHL is up to fate. We will find out during the PWHL Draft at 7 p.m.
The recent Concordia graduate wrapped up an illustrious tenure as a Stinger. Through five seasons, she recorded 55 goals and 125 points under the coaching guidance of Julie Chu and Caroline Ouellette. Bégin-Cyr won two U Sports National Championships and a gold medal as a part of the Canadian team for the FISU games in Lake Placid.
However, Bégin-Cyr has doubts about being drafted to the PWHL despite her impressive resume. A hand injury kept her out of the first eight games of the 2023-24 regular season. By Bégin-Cyr’s estimation, this hinders her draft stock.
“Last season wasn’t as I expected,” Bégin-Cyr says. “We’ll see what happens. The end of the year was really good, but the injury didn’t help my case.”
As it currently stands, The Hockey News has Bégin-Cyr ranked 75th in the mock draft. With copious amounts of talented forwards, such as Princeton’s Sarah Fillier or Ohio State’s Hannah Bilka, means that impactful offensive talent is pluckable in the early rounds of the draft, it may be easy for teams to overlook the native of St-Georges-de-Beauces, Que.
Bégin-Cyr has played in a team culture that has “Team First” plastered all over the dressing room and workout t-shirts. She has grown under the coaching guise of two former Olympians. This has helped her case to be drafted, and there has been a fair share of scouting. During the Quebec provincial semi-final, PWHL Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie and General Manager Danièle Sauvageau were seen at Ed Meagher Arena frequently to take in the games.
Bégin-Cyr doesn’t enter the draft portal as the sole Stinger. Emmy Fecteau, the top-ranked Quebec-born draft prospect, is not just a linemate of Being-Cyr, but also one of her closest long-time best friends.
“I’ve known Emmy since a young age, and we’ve played together for a long time,” Bégin-Cyr shares. When it comes to the prospect of potentially taking to the ice as a part of the PWHL, the two friends have watched the inaugural season with delight.
“We went to a lot of games together,” says Bégin-Cyr. “We discussed a lot about how it was really growing women’s sports, and just how physical it was and the speed.”
After capturing a third-straight Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec championship, Fecteau spoke on her friendship with Bégin-Cyr, “It’s been fifteen years that I am playing with Rosalie and seven years that we are roomies. So, that’s why we have such a great connection and it’s so fun to play together.”
Indeed, Fecteau and Bégin-Cyr have worn the same jersey from childhood to university to Team Canada. It will now be interesting to see if the two are placed on opposing teams.
“We said it’s going to be weird playing against each other because it’s never happened,” Bégin-Cyr says.
Bégin-Cyr has received good advice from former teammates who have made the transition to the professional level. Namely, Brigitte Laganiere, who played for PWHL Montreal this past campaign. One of the topics of discussion was competing for ice time at the pro level. Laganiere played in 17 games for PWHL Montreal and barely cracked a minute of ice time in the playoffs.
“We talked a lot with Brig,” says Bégin-Cyr. “We watched her, and it’s not always easy to be pro. You’re not always in the lineups. You just have to be there mentally and be team first, enjoy your time and do whatever you can to be on the ice and prove yourself.”
Where ever Bégin-Cyr laces up her skates in the 2024-25 season is still a mystery. When it comes to goals that she sets for herself, she aspires to help grow the women’s game and the sport of hockey, no matter the position.
“I want to play pro. I’m just not sure if it’s going to be here (North America) or elsewhere, like in Europe or something,” Bégin-Cyr says. “After, I want to stay in the game. Maybe, coaching little girls or boys. Just stay in touch with hockey.”