Abby Boreen has never been part of any American national team, including the Rivalry Series roster this season despite outperforming most of USA’s roster. Instead of complaining, she’s keeping the focus on her own game.
Abby Boreen has never been part of any American national team, including the Rivalry Series roster this season despite outperforming most of USA’s roster. Instead of complaining, she’s keeping the focus on her own game.
Hockey Canada and USA Hockey have both released their line-ups for the final two games of the Rivalry Series. And although these selections always create some discussion among fans and media, the reality is that one player was undeniably overlooked by Team USA - Montreal Victoire forward Abby Boreen.
Here are some stats. At the time of those announcements, Boreen was the only American from the top 25 PWHL scoring leaders who wasn't named to the team. Not only is Boreen the scoring leader on a team that includes Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Erin Ambrose, among others, but the Wisconsin native was eighth in the league in total points. Her five goals put her in a tie for second in the league. She remains in the top ten in league scoring, and is the only American in that echelon not set to represent her nation.
Among American players, Boreen’s eight points, currently trail only Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Alex Carpenter, Taylor Heise, Hilary Knight and Megan Keller. Not a bad list to be around. But for some reason, she wasn’t picked by Team USA, nor has she had any contact with national team staff.
“I haven’t really had any discussions with USA Hockey,” confirmed Boreen to The Hockey News Monday morning. “I’m just going to focus on me, keep working here with Montreal, and if an opportunity arises on the road, I would love that. I would have gone if it was offered to me, but there’s really not been a whole lot of discussions between me and USA Hockey.”
Never part of any Team USA
Stats aren’t everything when you choose a national team, but it’s still hard not to compare Boreen’s eight points to the two points rookie Gabby Rosenthal has had with New York, or the pair of points Gabbie Hughes has had in Ottawa, or the zero points in 11 games recorded by Toronto's Hayley Scamurra.
Boreen has never had the opportunity to represent USA at any level, whether it be U-18, national development, or a Rivalry Series roster. For some players, with Team USA and Team Canada, sometimes, it seems to be easier to crack the national team when a player represented her country at another level.
“I’ve been to U-18 camps, made it to the last cuts, but never made the final U-18 roster,” explained Boreen. “I got invited to the college USA team when I was a sophomore with the Minnesota Gophers, but I had an injury and couldn’t go. And that’s the last time I was part of it. I was never invited to a World Championship or Olympics training camp.”
Not only is Boreen racking up points this season, but she can also play physical, while being an asset on any line. She actually climbed her way to the first line with Montreal, alongside Marie-Philip Poulin and Jennifer Gardiner.
At 24, Abby Boreen is still young, though. And if she keeps playing like she has so far this season, she will get noticed by the right people at USA Hockey. After all, it took years for Hockey Canada to open its doors to players like Daryl Watts and Corinne Schroeder.
In the meantime, Boreen is focusing on her own game, and being the best player she can be for the Monteal Victoire. She keeps studying, making Montreal fans happy, and concentrating on the things she can actually control.
“You got to keep working, keep focussing on doing your stuff, be the best athlete day in and day out, and you’ll get rewarded for it at the end.”