Each Wednesday for a five-week period from June 5 to July 3, one of the newly minted inductees to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame will be profiled. In our fourth installment for the Class of 2024, read about hockey player Cathy Chartrand (B.Ed '12).
 
A native of Lac Nominingue, Que., Cathy Chartrand, was born on May 8, 1981 and attended high school at Polyvalente Saint-Joseph in Mont-Laurier, Que., followed by her CEGEP years at College St-Laurent. She graduated from McGill in 2012 with a physical education degree. A former Canadian national hockey team player from 2002 to 2008, she helped Canada win a pair of gold medals at the Four Nation's Cup in Kitchener, Ont. (2002, 2006). She also helped the Canadian under-22 squad capture gold at the Three Nations Cup in Switzerland (2000) and the European Air Canada Cup tourney in Germany (2003).

Chartrand went on to a prolific university career, where she was a five-time conference all-star defenceman and four-time All-Canadian at McGill from 2007 to 2012. A two-time recipient of the Gladys Bean Trophy as McGill female athlete of the year (in each of her last two seasons), she was the first athlete to also receive the Muriel Roscoe Trophy, presented to a graduating McGill female for proficiency and leadership in athletics.

The imposing 5-foot-10 rearguard became the top-scoring defender in McGill hockey history. She suited up for 198 career games overall with the Martlets, setting school records by a blue-liner for most goals (78), assists (162) and points (240), while collecting 148 penalty minutes. In regular season play, she racked up a 34-80-114 record with 44 PIMs in 90 contests. Her best season was in 2009-10 when she posted a stellar 21-34-55 mark with 44 PIMs in 39 games overall. The following season, she won the RSEQ conference scoring title with 29 points in 20 regular season contests.Over both of those seasons, she was the top-scoring defenceman in the nation.

A two-time Team MVP, Chartrand was voted conference player of the year in 2009-10 and twice led all CIS defenders in scoring. She served her final two years as team captain after a pair of seasons as an alternate. Chartrand led her teammates to five consecutive appearances in the CIS championship tournament, where the Martlets collected three gold medals (2008, 2009, 2011), one silver and a bronze. She was voted four times to the CIS All-Tournament Team and named Tourney MVP in 2008 after scoring two goals and six points in three games. During her university career, she played a key role in guiding McGill to a national record 107 consecutive victories in regular season play. Chartrand was also one of four Martlets who led Canada to a gold medal in hockey at the 2009 FISU World University Games in Harbin, China, where she tallied eight points, including two goals, in seven games.

After her university career, she served one season as a skills coach with the McGill Martlets and played nine years for the professional Montreal franchise in both the National Women's Hockey League and the Canadian Women's Hockey League, where she was twice-named as the CWHL defender of the year and led the team to a league championship in 2016-17. She retired from pro hockey in 2018.
 
Other laureates accompanying Chartrand in the McGill induction class of 2024 include hockey player Alexandre Picard-Hooper (B.Com '12) of Boucherville, Que., rugby's Brianna Miller (B.Ed '14) of Pointe Claire, Que., football's Randy Chevrier (B.Ed '01) of St. Leonard, Que., and in the builder category, is Geraldine Dubrule [BSc (PE) '57], who was raised in Ottawa and currently a resident of Kingston, Ont.
 
Founded in 1996 and located inside Tomlinson Hall at the Sir Arthur Currie Gymnasium on Pine Avenue West, the pantheon now has 180 honoured members, 31 of them Olympians. This year's induction luncheon is slated for Friday, Oct. 25, as part of McGill Homecoming 2024, and will be held at Le Windsor ballroom on Peel Street. Ticket information will be announced in early September.

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (cell)
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca