Two Quebec-born coaches are expected to join the PWHL ranks in the coming days. François Méthot is poised to take over in Boston, while Pascal Rhéaume is expected to become the next head coach of the Toronto Sceptres
Not only is a lot happening on the ice these days with expansion, free-agent negotiations, and teams protecting players, but there is just as much movement behind the benches across the PWHL.
Two coaching hires are expected to be announced in the coming days, and both involve Quebec natives.
While neither appointment has been officially confirmed, Boston has scheduled a press conference for Thursday morning and is expected to introduce François Méthot as the franchise’s third head coach, replacing Kris Sparre.
A native of Montreal, Méthot, 48, spent four seasons in the QMJHL during the mid-1990s before being selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round of the 1996 NHL Draft. Although he never advanced beyond training camp with Buffalo, he played six seasons in the AHL with Rochester and Portland before spending a decade in Germany, where he finished his playing career in 2015.
Following his retirement, Méthot returned to Rochester and joined the Rochester Monarchs AAA Hockey Club — now known as the Rochester Jr. Americans — as Director of Hockey, General Manager and head coach. He gained coaching experience at every level of the organization while also serving as Director of Hockey and head coach of the Rochester Ice Center Hockey Academy.
In 2018, he guided the academy’s 14U AAA team to the national championship game. He has also worked at the Nashville Predators’ development camp and at Power Edge Pro in Toronto.
His work earned league-wide recognition. In 2025, he was named the NAHL’s General Manager of the Year after having been a finalist for Coach of the Year the previous season.
High Praise From Winn and Simms
While he has never coached professionally in women’s hockey, Méthot has worked with a long list of future and current elite female players through the academy system, including PWHL players Haley Winn, Elle Hartje, Kiara Zanon, Hayley Scamurra, Katy Knoll, Maddi Wheeler, Allison Simpson, Brooke Becker, Lauren Bernard and Olivia Zafuto, as well as top 2026 draft prospects Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards and Kirsten Simms.
“Francois has helped me so much improve as a player in many different aspects of my game and taught me things I would've never learned if I didn't start working with him,” three-time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist Kirsten Simms said on the academy’s website. “He's helped my game grow in many aspects on the ice as well as off the ice too, he is a great coach and I always love working with him!!”
PWHL Rookie of the Year finalist and Defender of the Year finalist Haley Winn echoed those sentiments.
“I switched to the Monarchs in my grade eight year because they had a great coach in (former Rochester American) Francois Methot there and he’s still my skills coach today,” Winn said in 2024. “I owe a lot to him for sure.”
More Than Manon’s Brother
The other Quebec native expected to join the PWHL coaching ranks is Pascal Rhéaume, who should be announced as the new Toronto Sceptres head coach.
His name began circulating shortly after his sister, Manon Rhéaume, was named general manager of PWHL Detroit. However, Pascal has built a hockey résumé of his own over the past three decades.
The 52-year-old played in the QMJHL in the early 1990s before signing with the New Jersey Devils as an undrafted free agent. After three seasons in the AHL, he reached the NHL and went on to play 318 games with New Jersey, St. Louis, Atlanta, Chicago, the New York Rangers and Phoenix, winning a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2003.
After retiring in 2010, Rhéaume moved into coaching, spending time in Junior AAA, the QMJHL and the AHL. In 2018, he was named head coach of the Val-d’Or Foreurs. Ironically, he was dismissed in 2020 by then-general manager Pascal Daoust, who is now the general manager of the New York Sirens.
Rhéaume later joined the Trois-Rivières Lions, the Montreal Canadiens’ ECHL affiliate, as an assistant coach before spending nearly two seasons with the Bridgeport Islanders in the AHL. He was not affiliated with a team during the 2025-26 season.
Women’s Hockey: A Family Affair
Although he never coached at an elite level in women’s team, nor was part of an academy like Méthot, Rhéaume has long been connected to the women’s game through his family.
Of course, there’s his sister, Manon Rhéaume, who represented Canada at two World Championships before competing at the 1998 Olympics and later spent more than a decade coaching and developing girls’ hockey in the Detroit area.
His eldest daughter, Logane, played four seasons with the Université de Montréal Carabins and won the U SPORTS championship in 2018 alongside future Montreal Victoire players Alexandra Labelle and Catherine Dubois.
His younger daughter, Alexane, spent four seasons at Mercyhurst University, where she played alongside future PWHL players Alexa Vasko, Sam Isbell and Vanessa Upson. Pascal also coached her in a few girls’ hockey tournaments during her minor hockey career.
Rhéaume is also a longtime friend of former NHL goaltender and Hockey Québec general manager Jocelyn Thibault. The two have known each other since their junior hockey days. Thibault’s three daughters all played hockey, including Zoé, a two-time U SPORTS champion, and Rhéaume is like an uncle to them.