Stephane Verret, director of hockey development for the Canadiens, said Gao has been helpful in making hockey welcoming for Chinese Canadian youth and their families because she’s trilingual, fluent in English, French and Mandarin.
“We have a lot of kids whose parents speak Mandarin,” Verret said. “Every time they see Phoebe, she’s the go-to girl and they feel at home and comfortable because they know if they have any questions, that Phoebe’s there to answer.”
Gao said she got hooked on hockey when her family lived in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and she and her brother passionately followed goalie Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
She became a regular at Canadiens youth camps and events when her family moved to the Montreal area.
“From 7, 8 years old, she did all of our youth clinics, our summer camps, Spring Break camps,” Stephane Verret, the Canadiens’ director of hockey development. “She played high level hockey.”
Gao participated in an Asian youth hockey clinic the Canadiens hosted at Bell Centre when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Montreal in 2016 along with a talented young boy named Kevin He.
He, selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the fourth round (No. 109) of the 2024 NHL Draft, made history on Dec. 17 when the Jets signed him to an entry-level contract, making him the first player born in China to sign a pro deal.
Verret shared a photo of Gao standing near Li and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the right side of the player’s bench and He, not wearing a helmet, standing at the other end.
“When he was in Montreal before he moved to Toronto, he was, like, one of the only Asian kids who played AAA,” Gao said. “He’s opening doors for other kids who are Chinese that the NHL is a dream you can dream of.”
