Kassidy Sauvé

Canadian ice hockey goaltender

Ice hockey player
Kassidy Sauvé
Born (1996-05-19) May 19, 1996 (age 27)
Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 66 kg (146 lb; 10 st 6 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NSML team
Former teams		 HPK Hämeenlinna
Coached for Brown Bears (goalie coach)[1]
Playing career 2014–present
Coaching career 2019–present

Kassidy Sauvé (born May 19, 1996) is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. She was named to the training camp roster of PWHL New York, but was released on November 30, 2023 and subsequently signed with |HPK Hämeenlinna in the Finnish Naisten Liiga (NSML).[2][3][4]

She previously played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Buffalo Beauts and was affiliated with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), representing the organization in showcases with the Calgary chapter, as Team Scotiabank, and the Toronto chapter, as Team Sonnet.

Playing career

As a teenager, Sauvé played for the Whitby Wildcats in the boys' Eastern AAA Hockey League, making it to the 2012 OHL Cup.[5]

NCAA

From 2014 to 2018, she played with the Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference of the NCAA Division I. She missed the latter half of the 2014–15 season and the entire 2015–16 season recovering from surgery after suffering a number of hip and leg injures, including a bone lesion on her femur.[6][7] Across 88 games in three seasons with Ohio State, she posted 22 shutouts, a university record.

After graduating from Ohio State University, she joined the Clarkson Golden Knights women's ice hockey program in the ECAC Hockey conference of the NCAA Division I for the 2018–19 season as a postgraduate player.[8] Posting a .937 save percentage (SV%) with Clarkson and setting a university record for saves, she was named to the ECAC Third All-Star Team and was twice named ECAC Goaltender of the Month.[9]

Professional

After graduating, she joined the PWHPA and spent the 2019–20 season with the organisation's New England hub.[10] She made her PWHPA debut at the Dunkin' Showcase in Hudson, New Hampshire in October 2019, winning the showcase with Team Stecklein.[11] She then played for Team Turnbull at the Philadelphia showcase in February 2020.[12] She remained with the PWHPA for the 2020–21 season, being named to the roster for the Calgary hub, dubbed Team Scotiabank. In the 2021–22 season, she joined the Toronto hub, Team Sonnet.

In January 2022, Sauvé signed with the Naisten Liiga team HPK Naiset in Hämeenlinna, Finland, filling the vacancy created by the departure of Noora Räty to the Zhenskaya Hockey League.[13] She recorded the best save percentage and goals against average (GAA) of all goaltenders in the lower division series, a .964 SV% and 0.88 GAA, buoying the team to the top of the division and securing a playoff berth.[14] HPK lost the quarterfinals of the Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs in a four-game series against HIFK despite Sauvé's league-leading .955 SV% and highly competitive 2.29 GAA. Though she spent only a few months in Finland, Sauvé credited the time in the Naisten Liiga with reinvigorating her childhood love of ice hockey.[15]

Returning to North America after the half-season in Finland, Sauvé signed with the Buffalo Beauts as their starting goaltender for the 2022–23 PHF season.[16] Her official debut with the team was delayed until December 2022 after she sustained a hip injury in a pre-season exhibition match.[17] In her third game of the season, the injury was aggravated and she was placed on the injured reserve list.[18] In January 2023, she was moved to the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) list after it was determined that her hip required surgery; rehabilitation kept her from playing another game in the 2022–23 season.[19][20]

Despite effectively losing the previous season to injury, she remained a highly touted netminder and was signed for the 2023–24 PHF season by the Boston Pride in mid-June 2023.[21] The contract was on the books for less than two weeks before the PHF was sold and subsequintly dissolved to make way for the PWHL on 29 June 2023, voiding all PHF contracts.

Sauvé was one of 44 goaltenders to declare themselves eligibile for the 2023 PWHL Draft, though she was not one of the ninety players who were drafted (only eight of whom were goalies).[22][23] Following the draft, she accepted an invitation to attend training camp with PWHL New York.[24] On November 30, 2023, PWHL New York cut her in the first round of roster reductions.[4]

International career

As a junior player with the Canadian national under-18 team, Sauvé participated in the 2014 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship. She played in two of Canada's five games, maintaining an exemplary 0.50 GAA and .978 save percentage as the country won gold.

Personal life

Sauvé has a Master of Business Administration from Clarkson University and a bachelor's degree in sports industry from Ohio State University.[1]

Through her paternal grandmother (née Vezina), she is distantly related to former NHL goaltender Georges Vézina.[20][25]

References

  1. ^ a b "2019-20 Women's Ice Hockey Coaching Staff: Kassidy Sauvé, Volunteer Assistant Coach". Brown University Athletics. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  2. ^ Seppä, Lassi (December 29, 2023). "Kassidy Sauvé palaa HPK:n tolppien väliin". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Announces Inaugural Training Camp Rosters". PWHL News (Press release). October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Kennedy, Ian (November 30, 2023). "First PWHL Cuts Announced, Full Waiver List Here". TheHockeyNews.com. The Hockey News. Retrieved December 3, 2023. The PWHL has announced the first group of players placed on waivers this week. Here is the full list.
  5. ^ South, Adrienne (March 15, 2012). "Kassidy Sauve just 'One of the Guys'". Ontario Hockey League. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Hunter, Tom (October 26, 2016). "Kassidy Sauvé is Standing Tall for the Buckeyes". The Ice Garden. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  7. ^ Lukan, Alison (December 18, 2017). "Overcoming bilateral hip surgery is just one more win for Buckeyes' goaltender Kassidy Sauvé". The Athletic. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Lukan, Alison (September 10, 2018). "From Buckeye to Golden Knight: Goaltender Kassidy Sauvé transfers to Clarkson". The Athletic. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  9. ^ Staffieri, Mark (May 28, 2019). "NCAA DI: Kassidy Sauvé | Clarkson Golden Knights". Women's Hockey Life. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  10. ^ Sauvé, Kassidy (November 22, 2019). "Dream Your Dream". PWHPA. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  11. ^ Whelan, Kirsten (October 9, 2019). "Kassidy Sauvé Backstops Team Stecklein to PWHPA Showcase Title". The Victory Press. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  12. ^ Staffieri, Mark (March 17, 2020). "PWHPA Spotlight: Kassidy Sauvé". Women's Hockey Life. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  13. ^ Savolainen, Samuel (February 15, 2022). "Pohjoisamerikkalaiset ratkaisevat olympiakullan kohtalon, mutta taustalla muhii merkittävämpi vääntö naisten jääkiekon tulevaisuuden kannalta: "Tilanne on sotkuinen"". Hämeen Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Burgess, Melissa (June 30, 2022). "PHF Notebook: Rosters Taking Shape". The Victory Press. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Kauhala, Topias (March 26, 2022). "HPK:n maalivahti Kassidy Sauvé löysi Suomesta taas rakkautensa jääkiekkoa kohtaan – "Yksi parhaimmista tekemistäni päätöksistä"". Hämeen Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  16. ^ Rodriguez, Angelica (April 27, 2023). "PHF Season in Review: Buffalo Beauts". The Ice Garden. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  17. ^ "Beauts Sign Goalie Hofmann To PTO For Opening Weekend". Buffalo Beauts. November 4, 2022. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  18. ^ Burgess, Melissa (April 24, 2023). "PHF Season 8: Buffalo Beauts Season Review". The Victory Press. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  19. ^ Rice, Dan (January 11, 2023). "Around the Rink in the PHF: Week 7 - Strong All Along". The Ice Garden. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Schultz, Randy (February 2, 2023). "The Beauts Sauve Has Connection With Vezina. Yes, That Vezina". NY Hockey Online. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  21. ^ Rice, Dan (June 15, 2023). "Pride Sign Kassidy Sauvé to One-Year Deal". The Ice Garden. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Kennedy, Ian (September 13, 2023). "PWHL Releases Draft Eligibility List". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  23. ^ Sadler, Emily (September 19, 2023). "PWHL Draft Takeaways: Elite blue lines, Minnesota's hometown team take centre stage". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  24. ^ Murphy, Mike (October 7, 2023). "A closer look at PWHL New York". The Ice Garden. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  25. ^ "2018-19 Clarkson Women's Hockey Roster: 32 Kassidy Sauvé". Clarkson University Athletics. Retrieved December 13, 2020.

External links

  • Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com
  • Kassidy Sauvé on Instagram Edit this at Wikidata