AOTW: Anything But a Rookie on the Big Stage

In front of the microphone at the interview table, you would be hard-pressed to find a more modest superstar than Harvard winger Sarah Vaillancourt.

She speaks with the respect and deference of an ordinary freshman despite her international acclaim and statistical exploits, crediting her teammates and coach for her growing success.

Part of this, perhaps, derives from her unfamiliarity with the language.

A native of French-speaking Quebec, Vaillancourt only began conversing in English two years ago, as she prepared for a collegiate career in the United States.

There is something more, though, in her speech—an ingrained appreciation that she is but one member, albeit an exceptionally gifted one, of a unified Crimson squad with group aspirations.

“I just do it for the team, I don’t do it for myself, and I’m just really happy and proud of my team,” Vaillancourt said. “I don’t do it for my stats or anything like that—I just do it for my team.”

On the ice, however, there is nothing modest about Vaillancourt’s game.

She skates from end to end with blinding speed.

She leaps, twirls, and stutter-steps past defenders.

She levels opposing checkers with measured ferocity.

She fires slapshots that, when they don’t find the back of the net, bounce off of the boards with stunning resonance.

“Sarah’s learning to be a complete player,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “What I mean by that is she has a lot of tools—it’s just a matter of sharpening them up.”

On the biggest stage in women’s college hockey last weekend at the NCAA Frozen Four in New Hampshire, Vaillancourt played with maturity and gusto beyond her years, scoring four goals in two games to bring Harvard within reach of a national championship.

Although the Crimson ultimately fell to Minnesota in the finals, Vaillancourt, skating on the Olympic-sized sheet at the Whittemore Center, was a star.

“She’s on a team where even though she’s a freshman, and we don’t ask a lot of our freshmen, she asks a lot of herself,” Stone said. “The greatest thing for me in the last two weeks is to see how well she’s handled the playoffs, mentally and emotionally.”

The highlight of her performance was, undoubtedly, a hat trick in the 4-1 semifinal win over St. Lawrence. Vaillancourt put herself in prime position and cashed in two rebounds before finishing the three-goal night with a skidding slapper that zoomed through a crowd in front of the net and beat the Saints’ Jess Moffat five-hole.

Vaillancourt followed that up with a two-point night against the Gophers.

She notched a game-tying goal on the power play in the second period and picked up an assist on Caitlin Cahow’s equalizer late in the third.

All weekend long, Vaillancourt employed the width of the rink to her advantage, using her superior speed to navigate through and around the defense.

When it was all said and done, she had accumulated four goals and five points, both figures rookie records for the NCAA Tournament.

Vaillancourt also gained valuable experience in the spotlight while showing no sign of the jitters expected from a first-year player.

Then, on the heels of her Frozen-Four exploits, Vaillancourt took her game abroad, venturing to Sweden this week to take part in the IIHF World Championships with Team Canada.

She kicked off the tournament in grand style Sunday, leading the squad with two goals and four assists in an easy win over Kazakhstan.

The precocious Vaillancourt concluded the season as the fifth-highest scorer in all of Division I, by far the best among freshmen, tallying 2.31 points per game on 25 goals and 42 assists.

As Vaillancourt’s legend continues to grow, chances are she’ll stay humble, even if her skills and achievements are anything but modest.

—JONATHAN LEHMAN