(Photo: Reed Harmon/WCSN)
As the 2019-2020 season approaches for the Arizona State Women’s Hockey team, the freshmen start to get settled in. With there being nine freshmen on the team — the youngsters will have to step up to the plate.
Becoming vocal on and off the ice is a valuable asset for the underclassmen to gain for a young roster. Freshman forwards Abi McGee and Claire Walter both served as captains of their previous teams.
“It’s kind of in my nature,” McGee said. “Even for the upperclassmen I still wanted to give my opinions, because that’s the kid I am, but giving it where it’s needed and not overpowering others.”
For Walter, the Wisconsin native feels she doesn’t need to take on that role right away.
“I feel like it’s gonna take a while for me to feel like I have that sorta leadership position because I am a freshman,” Walter said. “With the freshman class, everyone is such a leader that not everyone’s gonna have to stand out and be a leader because everyone has that quality in them.”
Their playing abilities on the ice is another crucial element for this freshman class.
Freshman Karlie Chadwick brings her diversity to the team.
“I told the coach that I’ve played forward and [defense] because I played [defense] when I played on my high school team with boys…I played forward when I played with the girls on my travel team. So, I told her that and she just put me at center.”
With a dynamic freshman group skating onto the ice, it brings a sense of balance for a large and youthful roster.
“It’s really nice because all these girls are super diverse, so everyone has something different to bring to the table,” McGee said. “And being able to play with that just builds you as a player in general.”
Head coach Lindsey Ellis recognizes the potential in the freshmen.
“In our short existence, this is definitely our most skilled incoming class that we have,” Ellis said. “We’re super excited for the freshmen to make a difference in our team right away. It’s already obvious in practice. We’re excited for games to see the impact that they make.”
With the season approaching, building team chemistry between the underclassmen and upperclassmen will be crucial to the team’s success.
Chadwick was already familiar with the program as a Phoenix resident.
“I’ve been to a lot of the prospect camps,” Chadwick said. “Two of my teammates [from the Arizona Lady Coyotes] Sheridan Gloyd and Abby Steinman are on the team now, so I played a lot with them before they went to ASU… we do have that team chemistry and talk on the ice.”
McGee is taking the time to learn about her teammates to build that bond.
“The first week was kind of shy, no one really spoke out… now one of the girls is pulling on my jersey, pulling me down, being like ‘what’s up?’… It’s really nice to just get to know the girls and find out that we all have something in common,” McGee said.
The Sun Devil’s upperclassmen have made it a point to welcome the freshmen with open arms.
“We have another girl named Abby [Steinman] and she’s our freshman marshall, which is like she pretends she gets to tell all us freshmen what to do, but really we just beat up on her, so it’s super fun,” Walter said. “They’ve been really welcoming and wanting to actually talk to me and learn more about me.”
The choice for McGee and Walter to come to Arizona State and play for the women’s hockey team was an easy one.
“It was super easy to get to for my parents, my parents love to come watch me play,” McGee said. “I love the atmosphere, the coaching is a lot of the reason. I love the style of play and style of coaching…’”
Unaware of the women’s hockey program, Walter was in for an exciting surprise.
“I didn’t even know they had a hockey team at ASU,” Walter said. “I came to ASU because my grandparents live in Scottsdale, so I wanted to be close to them. And then I found out they had a hockey team, and was like ‘oh! That’d be fun to play.’”
With just a week until their first puck drop, the freshmen have a few more practices before their first regular-season games of the season.
The Sun Devils will be put to the test right away — playing four games in just three days on the road. They will travel to Colorado and face Colorado State and the University of Denver Sep. 27-29. Look for the freshmen to make their home debut at Oceanside Ice Arena against the University of Utah Nov. 22-23.
