Antoinette Mongillo Age: 46
Husband: Scott Howson, general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations How they met: They practiced law at the same firm. “I was there to learn from the best feminist lawyer in the country, and I met my husband,” Antoinette said, laughing. When they began dating, she didn’t know Scott had played pro hockey—or that he aspired to manage. “He was a lawyer, he was nice, he liked Italian food. I didn’t really get that he was going to be going into hockey and that I was going to have a life in hockey.” Years married: 15 Children: Max, 13; Rebekah, 12; and Joanna, 8 Native residence: Toronto Current residence: Bexley In brief: Antoinette grew up in a modest home in Toronto’s Little Italy and became an attorney who passed the bar in three provinces. She relocated to Columbus in 2007 when her husband became GM. As a member of the Blue Jackets Foundation board, she introduced and spearheads the foundation’s 50/50 raffle, which has helped raise $40,000 for local groups. She also created a handbook to help players’ families transition to the area.
Karen Bonneau Vermette Age: 28
Husband: Antoine Vermette, a Blue Jackets center How they met: They started dating as young teens. “(At 15), he got drafted to a Quebec City (junior league) team. I was excited, but I didn’t realize how big it was for him. I had no idea you could work in hockey,” Karen said. “I was pretty mad, because he was really good in school. And I could see that he couldn’t study as much as me.” Years married: 1 year Native residence: Quebec City Current residence: Upper Arlington (plus a cottage in Quebec City where they live during the off-season) In brief: Karen is a bilingual pharmacist who put her career on hold to move to Columbus when Antoine was traded in 2009. An active volunteer, she has helped with the team-supported “Muffins with Mom” and “Donuts with Dad” elementary program. She also has given time and money to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, donating a flatscreen TV to the teen room and painting and decorating another area. Last season, she and Antoine hosted “Vermette’s Vault”—a suite at Nationwide Arena used to entertain children and groups.
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hen Antoine Vermette and Karen Bonneau were young, lovestruck Canadian teens, Karen’s parents used to ask Antoine what he would do when he grew up. “I’m playing hockey,” Antoine would say. “No, seriously,” Karen’s father would respond. Now, Antoine is married to his childhood sweetheart, and he is the number-one center on the Columbus Blue Jackets—second in scoring last season only to Rick Nash. (He’s also a heartthrob in his native, hockey-loving Canada and, as local female fans can attest, in Columbus as well.) And like many other hockey spouses who must adjust to a mobile lifestyle away from family and friends, Karen—a pharmacist—has put her own career on hold, instead pouring her energy into volunteering around her adopted community of Columbus. Women married to men involved in professional athletics are part of an exclusive group. They experience glitzy highlights, of course: Antoine and Karen, for example, attended Carrie Underwood’s wedding to Antoine’s former teammate. But they also accept lonely nights and occasional public criticism of their spouses as part of the package. “All these women—they’re very unselfish people,” said Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson. “They put other people’s interests ahead of theirs. And that’s not easy to do.” The Canada native who has worked his way up the hockey ranks by managing teams in several cities knows that first-hand. His own wife, Antoinette Mongillo, is an attorney who passed the bar in
“My brother... taught me how to use every power tool, because there was an assumption I would never be married.” Antoinette Mongillo wife of Blue Jackets GM multiple Canadian provinces before finally putting her career on hold when they moved to Columbus. Antoinette, who practiced corporate commercial law as well as sports and entertainment law, now devotes her time to parenting the couple’s three active children, serving on the Blue Jackets Foundation board (she considers giving back to the fans part of her duty) and helping players’ families adjust to life in Columbus. One of the women she has helped is Marie Garon, whose husband, Mathieu, is a goaltender. Columbus is Mathieu’s fifth NHL team, so moving the family—including children who are 6 and 2—has almost become a fulltime job for Marie, who once was a social worker. “For me, hockey—it’s been hard sometimes,” Marie said. “But I’m so lucky.” Karen and Antoinette agreed. Sure, they said, they make sacrifices. But they are thankful for the lives they lead. “We are very grateful,” Antoinette said. The trio of women—all friendly, articulate and open— talked with us about those rink-side lives and the men they share them with. Karen, Antoine is quite the heartthrob among the female fans. Do you think of him like that? Karen: No—not at all (laugh-
November/December 2010 Capital-Style.com
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