Get to know our women in hockey performance

MONTREAL - In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re turning our attention to some of the key women who contribute to the Canadiens and Laval Rocket’s on-ice success.

We spoke to Rocket head team physician and Canadiens sports medicine physician Dr. Penny-Jane Baylis, hockey data analyst Miranda McMillan, Rocket assistant athletic therapist Marie-Pierre Neron, and sport dietitian Renee Racine to learn more about their respective roles in the organization and the paths that led them to pro hockey.

Dr. Penny-Jane Baylis: A leader and team player

At the core of any successful team is a player’s ability to take on many roles while playing as a unit with their teammates. The same can be said for team staff and couldn’t be truer for Dr. Baylis who holds two different titles with the Rocket and Canadiens. Before joining the organization in 2017, she sought out a career that combined both her interest in healthcare and passion for hockey, leading her to become a physiotherapist before moving on to medicine and earning a Fellowship in Sports Medicine at McGill University.

A staple in the Montreal varsity and pro sports scenes, Dr. Baylis brings her extensive pedigree and expertise to the AHL and NHL. With the Rocket, she works with a group of professionals, including an orthopedic surgeon, physician and dentist. She signs off on a player’s return to play after injury and works closely with Rocket athletic therapist Glen Kinney to manage team injuries and illnesses. While she leads her medical staff with the Rocket, she shifts into a more supportive role as a sports medicine physician with the Canadiens where she works with a multidisciplinary team of physicians led by Dr. Thierry Pauyo (head team physician and head orthopedic surgeon) to bring the best care to the athletes.

Miranda McMillan: Bringing two passions together

Finding a job you’re passionate about is not a given, but finding one that combines two passions is even harder. Luckily for McMillan, that perfect job exists in the form of hockey data analyst which hits on two of her lifelong interests: hockey and math. Following six years as a statistician and manager of the data team at Kinduct Technologies in Halifax, the Truro, NS native joined the Canadiens in 2022.

As member of the team’s hockey analytics department, she reports to director of hockey analytics Christopher Boucher and likes to say that her job is to “make his job easier.” What does that entail? Well, for both the Canadiens and Rocket, it means that she’s looking for patterns and trends in the data, communicating with the sports science and performance teams, and automating data collection and analysis all while creating pregame and postgame reports. Boucher is the main point of contact between his department and hockey operations, so she helps him automate some of his reports, ideas and concepts which makes the information readily available to Boucher and allows him to communicate effectively with the coaching staff.

Marie-Pierre Neron: Dreaming big

For as long as she remembers, Neron had always wanted to work in hockey and specifically for the Canadiens. After getting her degree at Concordia University, the Chicoutimi, QC native packed her bags for Ontario to work as the head athletic therapist for a hockey academy for four years. There, she got her foot in the door with Hockey Canada, working with the men’s U17 and U18 programs for nearly six years – one of the first women to ever hold this position. Eventually, she’d go on to spend two seasons with the Ottawa 67s before returning to her home province in her current role with the Rocket. Day in day out, she continues to turn her dream into reality and is only one step – or perhaps call-up – away from reaching her ultimate goal.

In her role, she reports to athletic therapist Glen Kinney and is largely involved in injury prevention and rehabilitation, especially for injured players at home while the rest of the team is on the road. Under her supervision, she handles their treatment, workouts and rehabilitation exercises on and off the ice. A typical day for Neron starts in the morning with practices or morning skates. Once the players leave, she and her colleagues prepare their medical notes, treatments, and exercises programs. On game days at Place Bell and sometimes on the road, she can be found laser-focused behind the bench.

Renee Racine: Seizing opportunities

Racine found her way into sports at the Canadian Armed Forces. While working in tactical nutrition, she also supported the military’s regional and international sports programs. As a prolific rock climber herself, Racine, who hails from Sudbury, ON, also took on rock climbing athletes and other individual sport athletes on the side, adding to her portfolio. She then moved on to work specifically with the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command before taking her specialized skills to professional hockey with the Canadiens, seizing yet another opportunity to expand her career in performance nutrition and sports.

A key member of the team’s sports science and performance department, Racine’s role with the Canadiens can be summed up in three parts. First, she works in tandem with the Habs’ performance chef for menu planning and taking care of what the players eat at the Bell Centre, CN Sports Complex, on the road and on the team plane. Secondly, Racine works closely with players on an individual basis to help optimize their performance, hydration and return from injury, and also assists them with their offseason goals. Lastly, she manages the Canadiens’ supplements program, which includes both supplements and other sports foods. In addition to her duties with Montreal, she also provides assistance to the Rocket.