Jill Saulnier

Jill Saulnier
Born (1992-03-07) March 7, 1992 (age 32)
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight 146 lb (66 kg; 10 st 6 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
PWHL team
Former teams
New York Sirens
Les Canadiennes de Montréal
Calgary Inferno
National team  Canada
Playing career 2011–present

Jillian Pauline Saulnier[1][2] (born March 7, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey forward for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is a two-time Olympian for Canada, winning a gold medal in 2022 and a silver medal in 2018.[3]

Playing career

[edit]

Saulnier has competed in five Atlantic Challenge Cups. Saulnier has claimed three gold (2003, 2005, 2007) and two silver medals (2006, 2008). She won a gold medal at Nova Scotia provincials with the Halifax Hawks in 2006.[4] Saulnier captained the Halifax Hawks the following season and was named team MVP. She played for Nova Scotia at the 2007 Esso Women's Nationals and was part of the fourth-place team.

At the 2007 National Women's Under-18 Championships, she played for Team Atlantic and finished in fourth. In 2008, Saulnier captained Team Atlantic at the 2008 National Women's Under-18 Championships. The team finished in eighth place, but Saulnier was honoured with the Most Sportsmanlike Player award.[4]

She played for Team Atlantic again at the 2009 National Women's Under-18 Championships and finished in sixth place. That year, Saulnier also played with the Stoney Creek Junior Sabres in Ontario and claimed a silver medal at the OWHA provincials. Two of her teammates on the Stoney Creek Junior Sabres, Laura Fortino and Jessica Wong, would play with her at the 2009 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships in Germany and win a silver medal.[5]

She finished fourth in scoring with the Toronto Jr. Aeros of the PWHL in 2009–10. At the PWHL championships, she won a silver medal with Toronto. In 2010, Saulnier won a gold medal with Toronto at the OWHA provincials.[4]

NCAA

[edit]

In February 2011, she committed to join the Cornell Big Red of the ECAC.[6] In her first three career NCAA games, she registered ten points (seven goals, three assists), along with a +6 rating. In her college debut versus the Colgate Raiders women's ice hockey program on October 25, Saulnier netted four goals.[7] Her four-goal night was the first for Cornell since Jessica Campbell scored four against Robert Morris in the second game of the 2010–11 season. She scored her first career goal when she was out on the Big Red's first power play of the game. In her next game versus the Yale Bulldogs, she registered one goal and two assists while scoring two goals in her third game versus the Brown Bears women's ice hockey squad. For the month of October 2011, she was tied for first in the ECAC in goals scored (while the other player appeared in eight games).[8] In a game on November 1, 2011, the Cornell Big Red scored at least nine goals in one game for the third consecutive contest. It was senior captain Chelsea Karpenko's 100th career game, as Saulnier led all Big Red players with two goals and three assists in a 9–2 triumph over the Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey program.[9]

Hockey Canada

[edit]

In August 2008, Saulnier was a member of Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team, competing in a three-game series against the United States in Lake Placid. The following year, Saulnier was a member of Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team that competed in a three-game series against the United States in Calgary. Also, in 2009, she won a silver medal with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team at the 2009 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships. In a March 24, 2010, contest versus the OWHA All-Stars, Saulnier played for the Canadian National Under 18 Women's Team. Saulnier would register an assist in the contest as the OWHA All-Stars defeated the Under 18 team by a 3–2 tally.[10] In April 2010 she won a gold medal with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team at the 2010 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships in Chicago,[11] beating Team USA in OT.

She played for Canada's National Women's Under-22 Team in a three-game series vs. the United States in Toronto in August 2010. Saulnier was an assistant captain at the 2010 IIHF Under 18 Women's World Championships.[12] She finished fourth in tournament scoring with four goals and six assists in five games.

On January 11, 2022, Saulnier was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[13][14][15] The team won the gold medal, defeating the United States in the final 3–2.[16][17]

CWHL

[edit]

Saulnier scored a goal as a member of Team Black in the 2nd Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game.[18]

Appearing with the Calgary Inferno in the 2016 Clarkson Cup finals, Saulnier registered an assist as the Inferno emerged victorious in a convincing 8–3 final.[19]

At the 3rd CWHL All-Star Game, Saulnier and Jess Jones both scored a hat trick,[20] becoming the first competitors in CWHL All-Star Game history to achieve the feat.[21]

On July 12, 2018, Saulnier and teammate Genevieve Lacasse were traded by the Inferno to the Canadiennes de Montreal in exchange for future considerations in the form of player(s) and/or draft pick(s).[22]

PWHL

[edit]

Saulnier was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 PWHL Draft by New York.[23] She scored her first PWHL goal in the first official PWHL game, a 4–0 victory over Toronto on January 1, 2024.[24]

Personal life

[edit]

Saulnier is a member of the LGBTQ community.[25]

Career statistics

[edit]

Regular season and playoffs

[edit]
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres Prov. WHL 28 14 25 39 12 8 4 7 11 12
2009–10 Toronto Jr. Aeros Prov. WHL 26 19 16 35 20 6 1 7 8 6
2010–11 Toronto Jr. Aeros Prov. WHL 14 16 6 22 10 2 1 1 2 16
2011–12 Cornell University ECAC 33 22 30 52 27
2012–13 Cornell University ECAC 30 10 33 43 30
2013–14 Cornell University ECAC 34 28 28 56 37
2014–15 Cornell University ECAC 28 20 24 44 32
2015–16 Calgary Inferno CWHL 22 12 10 22 16 3 1 3 4 0
2016–17 Calgary Inferno CWHL 20 11 7 18 12
2017–18 Canada AMHL (Men's) 15 2 6 8 10
2018–19 Les Canadiennes de Montréal CWHL 20 12 17 29 12 4 1 4 5 6
2020–21 Montreal PWHPA 4 2 0 2 4
2022–23 Team Adidas PWHPA 20 1 9 10 6
2023–24 New York PWHL 18 1 1 2 10
PWHL totals 18 1 1 2 10

International

[edit]
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Canada
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Finland
Silver medal – second place 2016 Canada
Silver medal – second place 2015 Sweden
World U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 United States
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Canada U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 0 3 3 4
2010 Canada U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 4 6 10 2
2015 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 0 1 1 0
2016 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 1 2 3 4
2018 Canada OG 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 1 1 2 0
2019 Canada WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 0 1 1 6
2021 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 4
2022 Canada OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 2 2 0
Junior totals 10 4 9 13 6
Senior totals 36 2 7 9 14

Awards and honours

[edit]

Cornell

[edit]
  • 2012 Recipient, Cornell Class of '14 Rookie of the Year Award[26]
  • Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society

NCAA

[edit]
  • ECAC Rookie of the Week (Week of October 31, 2011)[27]
  • ECAC Rookie of the Week (Week of November 7, 2011)[28]
  • ECAC Rookie of the Month (Month of October 2011)[8]
  • ECAC Rookie of the Month (Month of November 2011)[29]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Staffieri, Mark (February 15, 2019). "CWHL All-Star Series: Jill Saulnier | Les Canadiennes De Montreal". Women's Hockey Life. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Palmeter, Paul (April 30, 2019). "Jill Saulnier's hockey career at crossroads due to CWHL folding". CBC News. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Jillian Saulnier". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Johnson, Meaghen (August 18, 2021). "Team Canada player profile: Jill Saulnier - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  5. ^ "Waterloo Breaking News – Waterloo's Online Newspaper – WaterlooChronicle.ca". WaterlooChronicle.ca. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  6. ^ http://www.beyondthedashers.net/uploads/4/3/5/8/4358899/11-12_nc_team.pdf Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ "Saulnier Notches Four Goals in First Career Game As Cornell Tops Colgate". Cornell University. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  8. ^ a b "ECAC Hockey" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  9. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey Scores Nine Goals For Third Consecutive Game in Blowout of Syracuse". Cornell University. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  10. ^ "The Official Website of Hockey Canada". hockeycanada.ca. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "player-profile". www.hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "Game Summary" (PDF).
  13. ^ Awad, Brandi (January 11, 2022). "Team Canada's women's hockey roster revealed for Beijing 2022". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "Canada's 2022 Olympic women's hockey team roster". Canadian Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "2022 Olympic Winter Games (Women)". www.hockeycanada.ca/. Hockey Canada. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "Olympic gold-medalist Jill Saulnier returns to Halifax". Atlantic. March 4, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  17. ^ Tozer, Jamie (February 17, 2022). "Team Canada wins women's hockey gold at Beijing 2022". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  18. ^ "TEAM BLACK WINS 2016 CWHL ALL-STAR GAME". Canadiennes de Montreal. January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  19. ^ "2016 Clarkson Cup". cwhl. March 13, 2016. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  20. ^ "Jones shines in CWHL All-Star Game". Mississauga.com. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  21. ^ Staffieri, Mark (February 23, 2017). "Jillian Saulnier Soars to Greatness in Classic CWHL All-Star Game | Women's Hockey Life". Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  22. ^ Tammy Schwass. "LES CANADIENNES ACQUIRE OLYMPIANS GENEVIÈVE LACASSE AND JILLIAN SAULNIER". Calgary Inferno. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  23. ^ Mulligan, Preston (September 19, 2023). "Nova Scotians make history in first Professional Women's Hockey League draft". CBC. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  24. ^ "Halifax's Jill Saulnier on scoring goal in PWHL's first official game". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  25. ^ Outsports: At least 35 out LGBTQ athletes in Beijing Winter Olympics, a record Archived March 25, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, January 2022
  26. ^ "Women's Hockey Announces Year-End Awards at Team Banquet". Cornell University. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  27. ^ "Jenner, Saulnier & Holdcroft Tabbed with Weekly Awards". November 1, 2011. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  28. ^ "ECAC Hockey" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  29. ^ "ECAC Hockey" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
[edit]