On the ice, Emerance Maschmeyer is a master of attention to detail in net for the PWHL's Ottawa Charge. When she leaves the ice, Maschmeyer turns that attention to interacting with fans in a kind and considerate way.

Kindness. It's a noun defined by being friendly, generous, and considerate; attributes not always associated with professional athletes. In Ottawa, in the northwest corner of TD Place Arena, however, kindness is often on display. There, draping over the rail that separate a walkway where players exit the ice, from fans in the stands, you'll see a swath of PWHL fans donning team apparel, waving homemade signs, and calling the names of their hockey idols. In many professional leagues, players offer, at most, a high five or a fist bump in passing. Here however, it's more. And no player generously gives without reservation more than Ottawa Charge netminder Emerance Maschmeyer.

Along that railing in the home end of TD Place Arena, which sits atop a waist high red cement wall, many fans get a high five, others get their shirt, hat, or even cast signed by players, but Maschmeyer gives something even more valuable - her time and attention.

"I think it's important for me to connect with the fans and to inspire whoever that may be," Maschmeyer says. "People come out to watch our product and support us, so I want to give back to them in any way that I can and if I can make someone feel special by interacting with them for a couple seconds by signing something or having a quick conversation, I know that a little bit can go a long way."

Ottawa has developed one of the strongest fan bases in the PWHL, and it's in no small part due to the relationship between fans and athletes. It's one that has transcended the hierarchy of fame, and become something reciprocal, where fans and players showing mutual respect for one another.

The opportunity to see the impact of her time with fans has helped give Maschmeyer perspective on her decorated career. Even on nights when Ottawa is in desperate need for points in the standings, and Maschmeyer's performance is the make or break component of that equation, the smiling faces and human connection with fans keeps Maschmeyer grounded and focused not only on the game ahead, but the bigger picture of her platform and role as a professional athlete.

"I think for me it puts everything into perspective," said Maschmeyer. "I think often times as professional athletes we take ourselves very seriously and I can be like that, thinking about hockey all the time."

An Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Championships gold medalist, including being named Best Goaltender at the 2016 Worlds, Maschmeyer's career has been filled with memorable moments. The Harvard graduate waited nearly a decade after graduating before the PWHL arrived. It came the winter after Maschmeyer married former Canadian teammate Geneviève Lacasse on her family farm in Bruderheim, Alberta. And just over a month before the puck was set to drop on the PWHL's second season, Lacasse and Maschmeyer welcomed their first child, Beckham, to the world. Maschmeyer doesn't underestimate the impact of these off-ice milestones to how she approaches the game and her role.

"Becoming a mother has also given me a lot of perspective. But that human interaction, these fans don't care if we win or lose, they're there to support and they're always showing up, it gives me a little perspective. Yeah it's hockey, but at the end of the day it's a game. It's something I do for a living, and I do for fun as well, but it's not everything, there's way more to life, but that's the biggest thing, it gives me perspective." 

"I think about it often when I see young kids in the stands; that's going to be Beckham in the stands one day watching women's hockey, men's hockey, whatever sport he takes to, and I hope one day a professional athlete or whoever he looks up to will stop and give him that moment," she said. 

In the NHL, fans often line the glass in warmups with signs asking to trade a puck, stick, or selfie for a bag of candy. But in Maschmeyer's case, fans have brought her homemade bracelets, and even onesies for her son Beckham. It's not an exchange in Maschmeyer's eyes. It's part of forming a deeper connection with those around her.

Maschmeyer not only enjoys seeing those homemade bracelets, she also enjoys seeing the creativity of the signs Ottawa fans make. In warmups, and as she leaves the ice, those signs often bring a smile to Maschmeyer and her Ottawa Charge teammates.

"I think the signs are incredible, fans show up with so many really funny signs and I always love looking around, especially in warm ups, I always look around and read the signs," she said. "People give bracelets, and I've had a couple of fans give little onesies for Beckham and I think that's so cool, they're obviously following our home life online and that's so neat that they're coming to the rink with little gifts for him. One day we'll be able to share that with him as well. There's so many different interactions and each one is unique."

Maschmeyer also sees more and more fans wearing merchandise from her own EM38 brand that she launched in 2024. It's all part of the ever-evolving connection Maschmeyer has formed with fans of all ages. Maschmeyer is an athlete who makes her living reacting to plays with lightning quick reflexes. It's a job that demands her full attention on-ice. That includes in practice and training, as Maschmeyer spent her offseason honing in on the fine details of her game alongside Ottawa goalie coach Pierre Groulx. On the ice it has made her one of the best goaltenders on the planet. Perhaps it's also why Machmeyer knows the power of giving your full attention to other endeavours, including her interactions with fans. It doesn't matter if Maschmeyer is scheduled to start with crucial points on the line, or if she's playing the role of backup, there is always time, in Maschmeyer's mind, to spend a moment to uplift othes.

"Whenever I can, if someone asks me for something I'll try to give them my full attention," she says. "Obviously at a game it can be a little difficult, but when we come off the ice from warmups I have a few moments to take time and make someone's day or make someone feel special. Being able to connect with fans is important to me."

"We have that platform where we're able to influence and inspire," she continued. "For me it's part of my job, obviously performing is at the top of the list for my job an that's important, but at the end of the day we're playing hockey and this is much bigger than us as hockey players. For me it's inspiring the next generation and even adults, having conversations with people, it's just bigger than hockey so for me it doesn't matter if I'm playing or not playing, I'll make sure I take the time."

In a hockey world where toxic culture permeates, there is perhaps no more genuine and impactful moment of cultural change, than an athlete pausing to show genuine kindness and interest in others. Someday if those young players grow to be athletes who have fans of their own, Maschmeyer's gifts will almost certainly be passed on and reflected onto another generation. And even if hockey isn't in the cards for the youth Emerance Maschmeyer interacts with each Ottawa Charge home game, they'll still always remember the time their role model stopped to make them feel seen and special.