Jacobs Poised To Join Elite Company Among Chatham-Kent Hockey Players
Taryn Jacobs skating with Team Ontario – Contributed Photo
The Wallaceburg product, will be a sought after recruit by NCAA and OUA teams this coming season when she steps on the ice with the PWHL’s Southwest Wildcats.
Jacobs recently participated in the OWHA High Performance U16 identification camp in Alliston, Ontario.
For the young defender, being selected for this elite camp, and participating in the games involved, was both a challenge and an honour.
“It really is an extraordinary feeling to be selected for the OWHA Development Camp,” Jacobs said. “The competition is great and the games are faster paced than I’m used to from this past season.”
Jacobs, who played for the Bluewater Hawks Bantam ‘AA’ team last season, also represented Team Ontario at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships this summer, winning a bronze medal in Whitehorse, Yukon earlier this summer.
Playing for Team Ontario the past two seasons, Jacobs has seen her game improve against the older, and stronger competition, something she’ll also be challenged with in the PWHL this season.
“The National Aboriginal Hockey Championships have been a ton of fun the past two years I’ve gone,” said Jacobs of her Team Ontario experience. “Comparing the 2018 to 2019 tournament, I can see much improvement in my game. I was able to compete with more intensity and could easily keep up with the older girls. The travelling and sights have been great both in Nova Scotia and Yukon. It’s an amazing experience really to be able to make friends from all across my province and a few from others.”
Now, preparing to play in Ontario’s top league for Junior aged women’s hockey players, and top feeder for University hockey, Jacobs is looking to the future.
She’ll be skating in the same league that helped local players including Kaitlyn Isaac (Cornell), Emma Gorski (Merrimack), and Jessie McPherson (Vermont) secure NCAA commitments. Other Chatham-Kent alumni, including Olivia Hilton (Dartmouth) and soon to be Southwest Wildcats teammate Sarah Marchand (Robert Morris) are also in the league, and awaiting NCAA Division I hockey.
“My goals for this season are to continue to improve my game as much as I can,” Jacobs said about choosing to play for the Southwest Wildcats. “I want to transfer my game into the PWHL, make faster decisions, and improve as an athlete overall. Beyond this season, I want to play hockey at the university level. I love the game and want to continue playing competitively for as long as I can.”
With her talent, Jacobs still has many seasons of hockey ahead of her.