Who are the top defenders in NCAA hockey heading into the 2023-2024 season? We count down the top five, and bring a big watch list to the table.
Who are the top defenders in NCAA hockey heading into the 2023-2024 season? We count down the top five, and bring a big watch list to the table.
Last season, defender Sophie Jacques of Ohio State won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in NCAA hockey. The bar is set high for this season's defenders at the NCAA level, but the talent pool is overflowing.
As the extra season of COVID eligibility continues to filter out, it has created a backlog of talent at all levels. Here's a look at the top five blueliners entering this NCAA season, and a group of defenders to watch.
1. Caroline Harvey
Only a rookie last season in the NCAA, Harvey was a WCHA All-Rookie team member, but not only is she likely the best defender in the NCAA, she's also arguably the best blueliner on the planet. She's smooth, and contributes offensively, but is difficult to beat with her mobility on the back end. She led the USA in scoring at the World Championships, won a national title with Wisconsin, and was named USA Hockey's player of the year. She's already too good for the NCAA, and to think she still has three seasons remaining, Harvey should add a Patty Kazmaier to her resume at some point.
2. Nelli Laitinen
When it comes to international competition, Laitinen is a stalwart for Finland winning Olympic and World Championship medals, and earning Best Defender honors at the U-18 Worlds. She was the other WCHA All-Rookie team defender showing her physical dominance with Minnesota last season. She can score, she can punish opposing forwards, and she controls the game from the back out.
3. Cayla Barnes
Barnes has a few advantages over the competition. She'll be 25 before she finishes this season, transferring to powerhouse Ohio State from Boston College. She's also won Olympic and World Championship gold, and has a World Championship all-star nod, and two U-18 World best defender awards to her resume. Barnes is small, but distributes the puck effectively and uses positioning and IQ to close space against attackers.
4. Megan Carter
Carter looks like a pro defender, entering her fifth season with the Northeastern Huskies. While Northeastern's high flying offense took much of the accolades last season, Carter was the backbone. She held the on ice product together at both ends of the ice and will captain the Huskies this season. Is she going to lead the nation in scoring? No. Is she going to make Northeastern one of the toughest teams to play against again? Absolutely.
5. Rory Guilday
Guilday effectively uses her five-foot-ten frame on the ice and plays a stylistically similar game to Harvey. She only factored into 15 games this season due to injury and played a depth role for USA at the Worlds, but a fresh start this season should see a huge jump in productivity with Cornell. Few have the combination of size and skill displayed by Guilday.
Other Defenders To Watch: Allyson Simpson, Mae Batherson, Lauren DeBlois, Vivian Jungels, Haley Winn, Krista Parkkonen, Nicole Gosling, Sydney Pedersen, Dominique Cormier, Alyssa Regaldo, Sara Swiderski, Brooke Disher, Maddy Samoskevich, Abbey Marohn, Grace Dwyer, Lyndie Lobdell, Riley Brengman, Mia Biotti, Lauren Bernard, Charlotte Akervik, Hadley Hartmetz, Tory Mariano, Kate Monihan, Sydney Morrow, Emma Peschel.