Kassidy Sauve
Goaltender - Whitby Jr. Wolves
DOB: May 19, 1996
5'8 / 139 lbs
Photo Credit: Jana Chytilova/HHOF-IIHF Images
One
sophomore and two freshmen goaltenders are going to be on the roster
for head coach Nate Handrahan's Buckeyes during the 2014-2015 season.
Does
that sound familiar to you Buckeye hockey fans? If it doesn't, allow
me to give you a brief history lesson from the most recent OSU men's
hockey season.
At
the beginning of the 2013-2014 season, head coach Steve Rohlik had
sophomore Colin Olson, freshman Matt Tomkins, and freshman Logan
Davis as his three netminders. Olson, who was expected to emerge as
the starter coming off a stint backing up All-American goalie Brady
Hjelle, had a run of poor starts at the beginning of the year.
This
is where the circus began.
Chicago
Blackhawks prospect Matt Tomkins took the role of starter, and Olson
left the program to get more playing time in the USHL with Sioux
City.
Tomkins
seemed to be in cruise control, playing his position with a maturity
beyond his age and winning five of his first eight contests. All was
well until he suffered an ankle injury that knocked him out of
commission until Jan. 10 against Michigan State.
Enter
walk on goaltender Logan Davis. The third string goalie held down the
fort until Christmas break when Christian Frey was called up from
Dubuque (USHL) and performed to the best of his ability, posting a
3-2 record with a 2.21 goals against average and a save percentage of
.909.
Taking
the role of backup and third string goaltenders were the OSU club
goalie Aaron Kahn and Buckeye baseball catcher Aaron Gretz.
To
summarize for the sake of getting back to this week's “Spotlight,”
Frey became one of the Big Ten Conference's finest goalies. Tomkins
recovered, giving Rohlik the luxury of two quality starting
netminders, and the Buckeyes came one shot away from heading to the
NCAA Tournament, losing a heartbreaker 5-4 to Wisconsin in overtime
of the Big Ten Tournament Championship game.
Back
to the subject of this spotlight, Kassidy Sauve.
If
there was one word to describe the “Brick wall from Brooklin,” I
would use “magnifique.” I used the French word for “magnificent”
because speaking French is just one of Sauve's many talents. She even
picked up an award for her lingual talent in secondary school.
That
French language award isn't the only thing the stellar Whitby Junior
Wolves goalie has on her resume. Here's just a small sample:
- Winner of the Sault Ste Marie CANAM International Tournament and Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) West Division Champion with the York Simcoe Express in 2010-2011
- The first female to play in the prestigious Ontario Hockey League Cup Showcase Tournament and OMHA champion with with Whitby Wildcats Minor Midget AAA team in 2011-2012
- Bronze medalist in the U18 Canadian National Championships with Team Ontario Red in 2012-2013
- Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Champion with the Whitby Jr. Wolves, Gold medalist in the U18 National Championships with Team Ontario Red and U18 World Champion with Team Canada in 2013-2014.
I
believe the word that you're looking for is “wow.”
“Wow”
is certainly one of the top words that fans will be using once her
talents are on display on Woody Hayes Drive.
A
role model for women in the Whitby, Ontario area, Kassidy spent a lot
of her youth hockey days playing on boys teams. Growing
up in Montreal, there simply weren't any girls teams close by that
Sauve could play on. Despite
her parents wanting her to try figure skating, she followed her older
brother Brady and became a hockey player.
Following
the conclusion of the 2011-2012 season, she made the transition from
men's to women's hockey in order to begin her pursuit of her ultimate
goal, becoming an Olympian for her country.
There
has been a Buckeye women's player in every Olympic games since the
2002 Salt Lake City games. Emma Terho (née
Laaksonen) began the tradition by becoming the first OSU
women's hockey Olympian when she played for Finland in the 2002
games. Terho just finished her fifth games in Sochi in mid February.
Tessa
Bonhomme, Lisa Chesson, and Minttu Tuominen joined the club in 2010
for the Vancouver games. Bonhomme became the first Buckeye named to
Team Canada, Chesson the first Buckeye to be named to Team USA, and
Tuominen joined former Buckeye Terho on Team Finland.
The
most recent Buckeye Olympic success story came this year when Natalie
Spooner ('12) took home a gold medal from Sochi with team Canada
after that unbelievable comeback win over the United States.
Sauve
took a huge step towards that goal this March at the IIHF U18 World
Hockey Championship. She posted a 2-0 record, had a .50 GAA, and gave
up one goal, making 44 out of 45 saves during Team Canada's gold
medal run in Budapest, Hungary.
Given
her talent, drive, and determination to not let anything get in her
way, there is not a doubt that Kassidy Sauve will be representing her
country and The Ohio State University in the Olympics some day.
Success
against the guys early in her career, success against the girls now,
success internationally, and surely going to be a success wearing the
scarlet and gray come fall.
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