The current iteration of the PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League) is offering top-end female talent opportunities that could only be dreamed of, even as recently as perhaps five years ago or so.
As such, the off-ice opportunities are sure to be far more plentiful than those that existed in recent times as well - and that has Madisyn Papineau more than a little excited.
The recent graduate of the RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) Engineers NCAA women's hockey program is not 100% certain where her love of the sport will take her, down the road.
Papineau does recognize, however, that this is a pathway that she wishes to pursue, to some extent, at least at the moment.
"I wasn't ready to be done playing so to be able to continue in the game in a different way has been very rewarding," said the 23 year old forward who is now working with the crew at NHA (Northern Hockey Academy), largely in skills development.
"It's been cool top come back to the community where I fell in love with hockey and now see other kids falling in love with it."
A long-time member of the Sudbury Lady Wolves organization in her youth, Papineau has tapped into skills that came relatively naturally to her as well as her willingness to broaden her scope of knowledge, adding another component to the staff that has been gathered at NHA, under the guidance of General Manager Andrew Tessier.
"Skating is my favourite thing," said Papineau. "It's probably something that has always been a stronger part of my game. Andrew has been unbelievable in providing guidance on how to explain things."
"You may be able to do a lot of things as a hockey player, but to be able to explain it in a way that kids really grasp is a little more challenging. That came with a bit of a learning curve."
The process of gradually adding to a base of hockey knowledge is one that Madisyn Papineau is more than willing to commit to, even if the end goal might not yet have any great degree of clarity to it.
"Down the road, coaching would be really cool - but I have no plans to leave Sudbury anytime soon," she said. "The skills development side is a nice thing to have in your back pocket if you do go into coaching."
"Learning the technical side of things and how to explain them to players can be super beneficial if I decide to get into coaching some day."
But the truth is that there are many of hockey tangent that might be pursued as the women's professional game continues to grow and expand.
"Now, more than ever, being a female involved in hockey is a really exciting thing," suggested Papineau. "Ten years ago, there really were not a whole lot of positions for women beyond their playing careers."
"Right now, I am all in with the hockey," added the young woman who can boast a masters in Product Chain Management from RPI. "I would like to go as far as I can with it."
