Five members of France's national team have been playing and developing this season in Ligue de Hockey Collégiale du Québec, including Manon le Scodan and Jade Barbirati who led the Canadian league in scoring.
At the 2024 IIHF Division 1A women's World Championships, Team France may be hearing slightly different accents, intonations, and terms in their lockeroom.
It could be poutine, tuque, or dépanneur, or it could be slang phrases like Avoir mal aux cheveux, Être tiguidou, or J’ai la langue à terre.
The infiltration of Quebec French into a traditionally Metropolitan French language room could stem from the fact that five members of the 2024 French national team spent their season playing in Quebec, Canada.
In fact, Manon le Scodan and Jade Barbirati finished first and second overall in scoring in Ligue de Hockey Collégiale du Québec, Quebec's top women's league playing for the John Abbott College Islanders. It's a program that saw dozens of alumni playing in the NCAA and U Sports last season including former Canadian U-18 national team members Emilie Lussier and Maya Labad. Manon le Scodan was the top scorer in the province finishing her season with 31 goals and 70 points in only 29 games.
Playing for the Dawson College Blues were France national team members Chloé Gentien and Emma Nonnenmacher. The Dawson College program has four alumni playing in the PWHL this season including Team Canada and PWHL Montreal captain and future Hockey Hall of Fame member Marie-Philip Poulin, former Canadian national team members Ann-Sophie Bettez and Lauriane Rougeau, and PWHL New York's Jade Downie-Landry.
The final member of France's national team who played in Quebec this season is Léa Berger, who suited up with the Saint-Laurent Patriotes, whose PWHL alumni include Alexandra Labelle, Catherine Daoust, and Brigitte Laganiere.
While those five play for France at the Division 1A World Championships, hoping to earn promotion back to the top division of the Worlds, they aren't the only French players competing in Quebec. In total, eight players from France used the Ligue de Hockey Collégiale du Québec as a development pathway this season. Defender Perrine Lavorel played for France at last year's World Championship and was an assistant captain with their U-18 national team. She played alongside le Scodan and Barbirati at John Abbott College. Rounding out France's representation in Quebec were Isabella Llewellyn-Jollie who played for Cégep André-Laurendeau Boomerang, and Annie Sommer who played for Cégep Limoilou Titans.