Chatham-Kent’s Top 10 Women’s Hockey Prospects

We’ve done multiple lists featuring Chatham-Kent’s top male hockey prospects, so it only seemed fitting we gave the women their time in the spotlight as well. Chatham-Kent’s girls hockey programs are brimming with talent, many of whom will be moving on to higher levels in the coming years.

Unlike on the men’s side, we’re not using the pros as the cut off line to be eligible for our list. For most women in hockey, University is the top level of competition, except for a chosen few who continue on to the National Team, or the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

With that in mind, we’ve eliminated all locals who are currently playing University hockey, such as Tilbury’s Chelsey Stevenson (Williams College), Chatham’s Destiney Pailey (Windsor Lancers), and Dresden’s Zoe Ellis, who recently committed to play for the Windsor Lancers.

As well, we’re excluding anyone who has gone through the University system already, such as Hokey Langan, and Mallory Johnston, who currently plays in the CWHL with the Brampton Thunder.

Therefore, to make our list, you must be a candidate to move on to a higher level, whether that be the PWHL, or an OUA or NCAA hockey program.

So here we go, Chatham-Kent’s Top Women’s Hockey prospects:

10. Jessie McPherson – A real youngster on this list, McPherson cracks our list as an athletic young goaltender, who has spent recent seasons starting for the Chatham-Kent Cyclones Minor Peewee team. Also a member of Chatham’s OMHA champions a few years back, McPherson holds her own among the boys, and will be again playing boys travel hockey at some level this season. A 2002 birth year, McPherson has a long way to go, but is one to watch.

9. Sydney Authier – Similar to her younger counterpart, Sydney Authier grew up playing with and against boys, but in recent season has moved to play girls hockey. She’ll be playing with the Chatham Outlaws Midget ‘AA’ team again this year, and has backstopped the UCC Lancers girls hockey team to back to back OFSAA berths. She’ll again be between the pipes for UCC this season as she enters grade 12, and will be very difficult to beat, despite facing additional competition from the merger of the Lambton and Kent leagues. Goaltenders are hard to predict, but Authier has the skills to fight for a position with a University team.

8. Emma Gorski – A 2001 birth year, Gorski is young. However, being chosen to play for the West Coast Selects U14 team in Europe this year, is a sure sign she’s considered one of Southwestern Ontario’s top prospects in her age group. Going into grade 8 as John N. Given Public School, where she’s enrolled in the Frnech Immersion program, Gorski, a Wallaceburg resident, suited up for the Sarnia Junior Lady Sting team last year.

7. Megan Morehouse – An all around athlete, Morehouse was the Lambton-Kent Composite School Rookie Athlete of the Year. Morehouse was a dynamic scorer for the Chatham Outlaws Bantam ‘A’ team last year, helping them to several excellent tournament finishes, and was a leader on the LKCS Cardinals hockey team as a grade 9. Morehouse will move up to the Chatham Outlaws Midget ‘AA’ level this year, where she’ll be tested against older, stronger competition.

6. Kaitlyn Isaac – Another 2001 prospect, Isaac attends A.A. Wright Public School in Wallaceburg, where she’ll move into grade 8 next September. Isaacn is exceptional, and likely has a higher trajectory than many above her on this list, but is young. Last season she played ‘AAA’ boys hockey in Michigan with Compuware, which is widely regarded as one of the top programs in the region. Also a member of the West Coast Selects U14 team that visited Europe, Gorski will move on to bigger things if she continues her development.

5. Meredith Goldhawk – Not known for putting up big numbers, Goldhawk is a well rounded player, who by making the Bluewater Hawks Junior team, has positioned herself well for a spot on a University roster following a year in the PWHL, Ontario’s highest level of hockey for Junior aged women. Goldhawk was a force for the Ridgetown Royals girls hockey team, where she also starred for the school’s basketball team this year, and was a reliable player for the Chatham Outlaws Midget ‘AA’ team last season. Entering grade 12, Goldhawk is only a year out, unless she returns for a fifth year of high school, from a position with a University team. Making the PWHL this season locked Goldhawk’s spot in the top five of this list.

4. Maddy Lalonde – Lalonde was the second leading scorer on the Chatham Outlaws with 6 goals and 10 assists in 22 games this season, and it could be easily said, that without this offensive star, the UCC Lancers girls hockey team would not have qualified for OFSAA. She has all the offensive tools to make herself a valuable addition to a PWHL team next season. Entering grade 11, Lalonde will dominate the Kent high school league, and in her second season with the Chatham Outlaws Midget ‘AA’ team, her offensive numbers will likely climb there as well.

3. Lauren Nicholson – Refer to Maddy Lalonde, except with the slightly more offense. Nicholson was the leading scorer for the Chatham Outlaws Midget ‘AA’ team, scoring 11 goals and adding 10 assists in 22 regular season games. A huge component of the UCC Lancers girls hockey team, Nicholson is versatile, and makes those around her better. Entering grade 11, Nicholson will be a top recruit next season of PWHL teams and a University program.

2. Sydnee Baker – Another member of the Chatham Outlaws ‘AA’ midget roster last season, Baker gets the nod over her Chatham counterparts, who outscored her in Midget ‘AA’ last season, due to the fact she cracked the roster of the London Devilettes Junior team of the PWHL this year. Baker will compete in the provinces best loop, and already getting interest from NCAA and and OUA teams, has two more seasons to impress before she moves on. Another key contributor on the perennial OFSAA powerhouse UCC Lancers, with the crop of athletes this team features, an OFSAA medal isn’t out of reach this season either. Baker will play college hockey.

1. Katreena Whiteye – As close to a local girls hockey phenom as they come, Whiteye is a 1999 birth year, who played a handful of games last season with the Bluewater Hawks Junior team in the PWHL, and played for Bluewater’s Midget ‘AA’ entry. The former Chatham Outlaw is another member of the UCC Lancers girls hockey team, and was a former West Coast Selects member. She has all the skills to hang with Ontario’s elite, and would be a coup for any University program, NCAA or OUA, looking to add a player who will have an immediate impact.