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Jaques, who’s Black, earned each her undergraduate and grasp’s levels in engineering throughout her time in Columbus—no small feat whereas balancing the calls for of elite athletics, and she or he was named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year in 2022, an award that celebrates tutorial and athletic excellence amongst student-athletes of shade.”
Jaques was the tenth decide within the inaugural PWHL draft in 2023, going to a Boston group and market that was excited to have her and recognized the significance of her career. Alas, after simply seven video games with the Fleet, Jaques was despatched to Minnesota because the centerpiece of the first trade in PWHL history.
“I simply received a cellphone name from the Boston GM. Not a lot discover,” Jaques recalled. “I came upon on a Sunday night, and my flight left Monday morning.”
It was a sudden shift, however fast turnarounds like that include the territory in skilled sports activities. It may have rattled nearly any participant, however Jaques landed on her ft due to a well-known face. “One cause I used to be in a position to modify fairly shortly is as a result of [Minnesota] had Liz Schepers from Ohio State on the group,” Jaques defined. “She had house for me to reside in her residence, so I didn’t have to remain in a lodge. That made it very easy for me, and meant I didn’t have an excessive amount of to fret about off the ice. On-ice got here pure and was fairly straightforward.”
Jaques performed 15 regular-season video games for Minnesota final season, notching two objectives and eight assists, and hitting her stride alongside along with her teammates proper when it mattered most.
After qualifying for the playoffs because the fourth and ultimate seed on the final day of the common season (sound acquainted?), Minnesota hit its stride at simply the suitable time. “We had some highs and lows and have been simply in a position to have success when it counted,” recalled Jaques of a run that noticed Minnesota overcome a 2-0 deficit within the best-of-five first spherical sequence in opposition to Toronto earlier than beating Boston in one other five-game sequence within the PWHL Finals to seize the first-ever Walter Cup.
The group celebrated its win that late-Might evening and once more at varied occasions all through final offseason, however one of many sweetest moments got here just lately, when final yr’s champions have been every introduced with an official Championship ring.
