'Born into hockey': Meet Emilie Castonguay, NHL's rare female agent who has top draft prospect as client

Kevin Allen | USA TODAY

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Emilie Castonguay has created a buzz as one of the NHL’s rare female certified player agents because she has something that the men don’t: Alexis Lafreniere, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL draft.

“It’s hard to compare him to just one player,” Castonguay told USA TODAY Sports. “I would put him as a mix of (Evgeni) Malkin, (Leon) Draisaitl, maybe John Tavares. If you put all of those players together and you get (Lafreniere).”

Castonguay, a lawyer, speaks confidently, and that has helped her smoothly navigate as a woman in a male-dominated industry.

"Knowledge is power," she said. "And I have that. As soon as I start talking hockey, they realize I know what I’m talking about; the fact I'm a female is forgotten."

Castonguay, 35, says she is often asked to explain the struggle she has endured breaking through the gender barrier, and she has no dramatic tale to tell.

“To be honest, I’ve had a really good experience,” she said. “When it comes to general managers and the players themselves, I’ve had no problems. Who knows what people say behind your back, but I suppose that goes for everybody.”

A Montreal native, Castonguay said she was “born into hockey.” She started playing youth hockey with boys.

“You’d get dressed in the referee’s room and go through that challenge as a kid,” she said. “Hockey was just my passion early on. I loved watching it. I loved it. I loved playing it.”

She was skilled enough to earn a full-ride scholarship at Niagara. “Found a role more as a checker, a third-line player in college,” Castonguay said. “But (my) talent was more in the classroom once I got to that level.”

She said she "wasn’t the one on the ice with two minutes left on the clock.” But she was named captain her junior and senior year.

“But once I realized I was never going to play in the Olympics or play professionally with the women or the men, I knew I wanted to stay in the game,” she said.

That’s when she dived headfirst into the business side of the sport. Montreal Canadiens executive Pierre Gauthier mentored her.

“Along the way, he told me, ‘Through our conversations and debates, you seem like you are pro-player,” Castonguay said. “I didn’t disagree. He said maybe you should go try to work with the union or the agency instead of an NHL team because I think you can be more valuable there. I took his advice.”

Castonguay joined Momentum Hockey as part of a three-agent firm that represents about 60 athletes, most of whom have not yet reached the NHL.

But the group now has landed a prize in Lafreniere, who has 13 goals and 45 points playing for Rimouski in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

“There is nothing in his mindset that will allow him to be sidetracked,” Castonguay said. “There is no way it’s not going to work out for him because he has that mentality.”

She really doesn’t know whether she has an advantage or disadvantage as a woman when she recruits young players and their families.

“I think at first people are surprised, but I’ve always gotten very good feedback about my hockey knowledge,” Castonguay said. “I think the moms like to have a woman involved. I’m not sure it’s an advantage, but I hope it is. But if I was a female and didn’t know what I am talking about, I wouldn’t close those deals.”

When Castonguay, who has completed nine years of school, is asked about a career as an agent, she tells them it’s a challenging business, and that would be true whether you are male or female.

“You are on the road all of the time,” Castonguay said. “When recruiting players, you win more than you lose. That’s something you have to be ready for and be strong enough to deal with. People see agents and say, ‘What a glamorous life’, but they haven’t seen them sleep in their cars years before.”

Castonguay has hopes. “In 15 years, I hope I will be sitting at the annual agent meeting and there will be more than 20 women in there with me,” said Castonguay. “I believe women can bring a lot to the sport because we have a different perspective.”

And a goal.

“What I hope,” says Castonguay, “is that you do a story on me because I’m the best agent in the business, not because I’m the only woman in the business.”