Who was the first female player to appear in an NHL preseason game?

Manon Rhéaume was the first female player to appear in an NHL preseason game. On September 23, 1992, she played goalie for the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning against the St. Louis Blues.

Rhéaume entered for the first period and faced nine shots, allowing two goals. Although the appearance was an exhibition rather than a regular-season game, it made her the first woman to play in an NHL game and, at the time, the first woman to appear in one of North America’s major professional sports leagues.

Her opportunity followed a remarkable rise through traditionally male hockey settings. Rhéaume had already become the first female player in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament and later the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Tampa Bay invited her to training camp after she won gold with Canada at the 1992 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

A common mix-up is assuming that Rhéaume played a regular-season NHL game. She did not. She appeared in another Lightning preseason game in 1993, but no woman has yet played in an NHL regular-season contest. Rhéaume later helped Canada win Olympic silver at Nagano in 1998.