Leading the charge

Jocelyne Larocque recognized she was serving a greater purpose this weekend.

One of the faces of Canadian women’s hockey for the last 15 years, Larocque has made an impact on the ice for a long time. But as the Professional Women’s Hockey League touched down in Winnipeg for the first time, the Ste. Anne product’s influence could be seen better in the faces of young fans off the ice.

Larocque says she’s felt her responsibility as a role model for young players has only grown with age. Now 37, she is in the late stages of her career, but knows how significant it can be for someone to see her play or spend a few moments with her away from the rink.

“It’s definitely a responsibility, but it’s one that all of us take with so much honour and excitement, and we think of ourselves as young girls who — it was really hard to see girls hockey, women’s hockey at any level, even on TV,” Larocque told the Free Press. “It’d be like once every four years. I didn’t even know it existed until it became an Olympic sport. So now little girls can watch us play almost every night.”

Those words rang truest on a busy Saturday as Larocque was back in her home province, preparing for a hockey game for the first time in eight years, and for the first time as a member of a pro team. Her day began with the Ottawa Charge holding a practice session at the hockey for all centre that was well-attended by children of all ages.

With the PWHL’s Takeover Tour in the provincial capital for the first time, the Charge’s alternate captain and veteran defender was easily the star of the show.

“I think of myself growing up around here, I had the NHL players to look up to, right? And when I told people that I wanted to play in the NHL, I got a lot of that, ‘You can’t do that,’ and ‘you can’t play professional hockey,’ and now young girls can have the dream to play professional hockey, and it’s not a joke or silly or, ‘Oh, that’s cute,’ it can actually be a real thing,” said Larocque.

Not only is it the PWHL’s first time here, it’s Winnipeg’s first live look at a pro women’s sports league, and the anticipation was palpable, with game tickets already sold out — many seats to be occupied by little boys and girls with dreams of one day following in Larocque’s footsteps.

“I think it makes it easier to dream when you can actually see it,” Larocque added, “because I know if I didn’t have my older sister to look up to and to see her strength to stay in the sport, I don’t know if I would have where now, lots of girls play hockey, and it’s not crazy, and it’s not seen as a it’s a sport for guys. So I think it’s very empowering for them to be able to see us.”

After practice, several players, including Larocque, made their way to a private room where members of the Eastman Selects U13 girls’ team were able to get some quality time with the pros, including pictures and signings.

The Selects received the VIP treatment through Larocque’s sister, Chantal, who coaches the team.

“I think just being able to see them at a hand’s reach, it’s special, and I think it’s also like a dream that they can kind of attain,” said Chantal. “Jocelyne is a very humble person, so she’s somebody that likes to give back, likes to meet people, likes to take time to do autographs and talk to them.”

Larocque did a solo visit with the Selects U13, U15 and U18 squads earlier this season, where she stayed for close to an hour signing memorabilia and doing a Q-and-A with the group.

“Everybody thinks it’s wicked,” Chantal said. “We have our whole group here, so obviously they have fun, and to be able to say that they know Jocelyne personally, it’s pretty cool too. I think they just enjoy the experience and appreciate that we can make that happen.”

An equally important part of Larocque’s return home is the astounding number of family members who will be in attendance to watch her. Nearly 240 tickets belong to the Larocque clan, which will occupy most of sections 214 and 215, including players from the Eastman Selects’ U13 and U15 teams and roughly 150 loved ones.

Larocque’s family last saw her play at home in 2017 as a member of the Canadian national team during a pre-Olympic exhibition game against the United States.

The Larocques travel in bunches. They’ve made a couple of trips to the nation’s capital to watch Larocque play, and most recently, 17 family members travelled to Milan to watch her in the Olympics.

Larocque, who is one of two Manitobans taking centre stage on Sunday (Oak Bank’s Kati Tabin), is thrilled to have the opportunity to play in front of her loved ones as much as anything.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of failed leagues that the leagues just didn’t see the importance of the marketing and the advertisement and the exposure, and you have to put money into it. The NBA and NHL, they still put millions of dollars in all those avenues, because you need to do that, right? So finally, this league has done that, and look how much it’s grown,” she said.

“I knew at some point a real pro league would start. I’m just thrilled that I’m able to be a part of it. I was getting a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to, so I feel very grateful that I’m a part of it as a player. It took a long time, but at least we’re where we are today.”

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