Perreaux’s journey leads to NHL

LETHBRIDGE — It’s a long road from Brandon to the National Hockey League, but Erica Perreaux has made the transition seamless.

Perreaux is the primary photographer for the Western Hockey League’s Lethbridge Hurricanes while also serving as the graphic designer for the team’s social media posts. During the season, Perreaux splits her time between Lethbridge and Vancouver, where she works as a live social contributor (LSC) for the NHL at Canucks home games.

Perreaux was hired as an LSC ahead of last season and is entering her second season in the role.

Perreaux says she still vividly remembers the day she received the news she got the LSC job.

“I still get emotional about it, honestly, because it’s only been a year,” Perreaux said. “That was a dream to make it to the NHL, and you never really know how these things come about. It’s a great group of people that I work with on the social side of the NHL.

“Just seeing the growth I’ve had, but still remember where I came from and my roots. I love working with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. I would say that my passion is that I like being with a team and everything. The NHL has really opened up my eyes to what you have and just to be very grateful.”

Perreaux’s father, Mike, owned and operated Tri-Star Screenprinting in Brandon. While she wasn’t playing hockey or involved in another activity, Perreaux spent a lot of time in the shop as a kid, which she says played an important role in her career today.

“I think I’ve always been the creative type because I grew up in a creative family with my dad owning his own print shop and he’s a graphic designer,” Perreaux said. “Me and my brother would go there all the time to his shop and do arts, crafts, and paint, and I think that that’s where my creativity stemmed, was watching him do all of these cool things. It just kind of came naturally and easy to me and that’s how that started.”

Even from a young age, Perreaux was always interested in photography. She recalls experimenting with all sorts of different shots with her first camera.

“I feel like I always had a camera in hand, a digital camera,” Perreaux said. “I remember getting my first one. I want to say I was in Grade 7 or 8 and would just take photos of the most random things, like my cat or my brother skateboarding, the typical stuff that you did in the early 2000s.

“I really knew that I wanted to get into photography as more than a hobby. This was also before social media was a thing or anything. I didn’t know sports would be my thing. I did play hockey growing up, so I would take pictures at my brother’s AAA games in Brandon. I didn’t think that it was anything there. I would go home and edit them, and it was just fun for me.”

While Lethbridge has been the market where Perreaux has made a name for herself, the first experience she had taking photos in the WHL came in Prince Albert at the Art Hauser Centre.

Her younger brother, Carson, spent parts of three seasons with the Raiders from 2011-2014. Erica, who was attending school in Lethbridge at the time, would make the drive up to Prince Albert on weekends, while her parents would make the drive up from Brandon to meet as a family and watch Carson play.

“It was just a really cool experience to be able to capture my brother,” Perreaux said. “I’m just sitting in my seat in the Art Hauser Centre, but it just made me really happy. I know he appreciated it, and it was really cool to capture. He played on a line with Leon Draisaitl.

“I have a photo of him with Leon on the bench and it’s one of my favourites because look at him now, and I know that really meant a lot to my brother too. This was also back when social media wasn’t a big thing, so I didn’t really have much to compare myself to, and I think that really helped me too because nowadays I get caught up in comparing my work to other people’s work and I know young creatives do as well.”

Perreaux’s first experience shooting with a telephoto lens came in Prince Albert. A photo taken in the Art Hauser Centre shows Perreaux sitting on a chair in the corner right on the glass wearing her brother’s jersey with Perry Bergson crouched next to her providing some occasional instruction.

Bergson was the managing editor at the Prince Albert Daily Herald at the time. Prior to his time in Prince Albert, Bergson had spent 22 years with the Brandon Sun.

While in Brandon, Bergson knew Mike Perreaux as an acquaintance and that connection led to Bergson showing Erica the ropes with his professional camera, which was more advanced than the one she had at the time.

Bergson downplayed the interaction, saying it was Perreaux’s passion and work ethic that led her to where she is today.

“Mike had told me she was interested in photography,” Bergson said. “She was coming out to a game to watch her brother. I thought, well, why not put a camera in her hand for a period?

“She sat with me in one of the corners and just shot. I did a little bit just showing her how to use the thing because she’d never used a pro camera before. Then everything after that is all Erica, that’s not me at all. All I did was give her the first taste.

“Isn’t it funny how things work out? Mike introduces me to his daughter. I introduced her to my camera, and now she’s working in the National Hockey League. It’s remarkable. Sometimes, your passion presents itself, and all you need is maybe somebody to give you that first opportunity. If I played any small role in developing a photographer who’s way more talented than I am, that’s pretty incredible.”

Perreaux would continue to shoot her brother’s games in Prince Albert with the support of the Raider business office, which was led by the late Bruce Vance.

Bergson has since moved back to Brandon, where he covers the Wheat Kings and the WHL as the senior sports reporter for the Brandon Sun. Looking back on the interaction, Bergson says it’s incredible to see the heights that Perreaux has reached in her career.

“It just all seems like a happy accident to me,” he said. “This young lady shows up, I know her dad, hand her my camera, she shoots, falls in love with it, and now she’s in the NHL. If you wrote that for a movie, they wouldn’t produce it because they said it wouldn’t happen. It’s just remarkable that it’s happened in real life.”

From her humble beginnings shooting her brother’s games, Perreaux has put together an impressive creative resume. She has shot several events for Hockey Canada, including the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship when Canada took home the gold in Edmonton. Mason McTavish saved the game for Canada in that contest, batting a puck out of midair in front of the goal line in overtime.

Outside of hockey, Perreaux has also shot for the BC Lions in the CFL, IndyCar racing, as well as promotional images for Canadian country singer Brett Kissel. For her work alongside fellow creative Ben Dartnell on Kissel’s ‘What is Life’ album, she was nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award in the Creative Directors of the Year category in 2021.

Bergson says Perreaux’s photos stand out because of how they are able to illustrate a story.

“You look at her pictures and I think the thing that really makes them stand out for me is the humanity in them,” Bergson said. “If you take a picture of a hockey player at the blue-line and it’s a full-body shot, he’s a hockey player. If you get him with a telephoto from 30 or 40 feet and he’s got an expression on his face, he’s a person and you’re telling a story that way, and that’s what I love about her pictures, is her ability to tell stories.”

Perreaux first started taking photos for the Hurricanes during the 2014-15 season on a volunteer basis. Throughout her time shooting in the league, several players that Perreaux has taken photos of in the WHL have gone on to have successful careers in the NHL.

“I love junior hockey and I always joke about how much I do love it, and I think that’s the coolest part is seeing these guys, even guys I didn’t shoot in Lethbridge.” Perreaux explained. “I do root for the Dub guys a lot more. Seeing Stewie (Stuart Skinner) for my first game with the Oilers in Vancouver and seeing his reaction. It was like, ‘Oh my God, what are you doing here?’ kind of thing, so we had a good moment there.

“Dylan Cozens is the other one. Last year he was doing his pre-game warmup and I was just walking by, and he looked up and gave me a big hug. It’s just those connections that you have with these guys, and they’re so appreciative. It’s like, I just take photos, what do you mean?”

Another familiar face and voice for the Hurricanes began his tenure with the team during the 2014-15 season. Dustin Forbes took over as the team’s play-by-play broadcaster from Pat Siedlicki. While working with Perreaux over the last decade, the two have become close friends.

Forbes says Perreaux has an uncanny ability to capture a moment while also showcasing the emotions.

“There’s been so many great photos that she’s been able to capture certainly in Hurricanes history,” Forbes said. “I think what I’ve seen in her since she started to now is being able to capture the emotion of a moment and I think that’s a tough skill for a photographer. You always hear a picture lasts for a test of time and things like that and you can really get the feel of the moment with her photography.

“One of the ones that I think about is Game 7 in 2017 against the Red Deer Rebels. She got a photo of Jordy Bellerive and Ryan Vandervlis hugging up against the boards after they’d combined for a shorthanded goal in what was a pretty monumental game, maybe one of the better games I’ve had in my time in Lethbridge.

“To be able to capture those moments and really have the photo still be able to tell a story, I think, is such an incredible talent and something that not a lot of people can do.”

While Perreaux has spent plenty of time in Lethbridge, Forbes says it’s only a matter of time before she is shooting more and more prominent events.

“At the end of the day, she’s incredibly talented,” he said. “I think from a team perspective and a colleague perspective, it’s one of those try and enjoy her talent while we can, because I’m not certain she’ll be in Lethbridge for the rest of her career, because she is so talented and has been able to push down doors.

“I would imagine that there are a lot of people that, whether they’re from Lethbridge or Vancouver now, that are growing up and have a camera in their hands and want to be able to do what she’s doing. I think she’s such a great example for that next generation of sports photographers in general, and certainly women that are trying to get into the industry too, because she’s been able to push down a lot of barriers.”

In her spare time, Perreaux also serves as an assistant coach for the Lethbridge U18 Tier II Cyclones.

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