Color of Hockey: Jaques has unfinished business at Ohio State

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, as part of NHL.com's celebration of Black History Month, he profiles Ohio State University defenseman Sophie Jaques, who is among the leading goal-scorers in NCAA Division I women's hockey.

Sophie Jaques was thrilled to return to Ohio State University for a fifth season to complete what she considers unfinished business.

"I think there is still a lot of work in helping continue to build this program and grow the game," Jaques said.

The 22-year-old defenseman from Toronto is back in Columbus doing just that, having the type of season that made her one of the top players in NCAA Division I women's hockey last season and helped propel Ohio State to the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Frozen Four championship.

Jaques (pronounced Jakes) has 39 points (19 goals, 20 assists) in 30 games, second on the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes, and is tied for fifth in the NCAA in goals. She's pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering and was granted an extra year of NCAA eligibility because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college sports.

"Getting to play with them for another year has just been really fun so far," Jaques said. "I think it's the compete level we have in practice every day and having just great teammates around me that push me every day to get better, I think, has helped me develop over my time here."

Jaques developed from a player who had four points (two goals, two assists) in 20 games in 2020-21 to a top-three finalist last season for the Patty Kazmaier Award presented to the top Division I women's player last season. She led Ohio State and set a program record for points by a defenseman with 59 (21 goals, 38 assists) in 38 games and was the third-leading scorer in Division I. She had the second-highest single-season points total by a true defenseman in NCAA history, a team-high 44 blocked shots and led Division I with a plus-55 rating.

"I'm definitely an offensive defenseman," she said. "I just try to move pucks as quickly as I can to try to push the pace of the game and just try to make plays with my teammates, and stuff like that has given me a lot of success recently."

Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall marvels at Jaques' growth from a contributing player her first two seasons into a star with a penchant for stepping up in critical situations. Jaques scored the tying goal with 9:33 remaining in the third period and the game-winner 23 seconds into overtime in a 3-2 win against the University of Minnesota in the 2022 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Faceoff championship game.

She was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

"Coming in we wanted her to have a strong plus/minus on the ice," Muzerall said. "We wanted her to contribute a little offensively on the blue line, but never did we think she'd grow to this magnitude. No way.

"Sophie Jaques, when you put a heart rate monitor on her, we could be playing the top team in the country at the national championship or we could be playing an unranked opponent, her heart rate doesn't change. She doesn't get bothered or sidetracked by the big moment. To be able to stay calm and cool under pressure makes her clutch."

Hilary Knight, who helped the United States win the gold medal in women's hockey at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and eight gold medals at the IIHF Women's World Championship, said Jaques "should be 'Patty Kaz'" this year.

"If Patty Kazmaier is supposed to represent the best player in college hockey for women, then yeah," Knight said Friday at the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. "She had an unreal year last year, she's doing it again this year, I mean it's not a fluke. Ohio State doesn't make it to the national championship game without Sophie Jaques.

"She just exploded on the scene last year," Knight said. "She's one of those players that went under the radar for so long. It's just really fascinating that a player, especially a defenseman, can take the scene at that level."

Olivia Soares, a former Ohio State forward and captain who played with Jaques from 2018-20, said that the puck simply loves her. Soares is an assistant on Union College's women's team and one of three Black women coaches
in NCAA Division I and III hockey.

"We used to joke that her stick was a magnet and somehow it would just stay on there," Soares said. "Her overall game just developed so much that from the [defensive] zone she's extremely hard to play against. Of course her size (5-foot-8) is helpful, but I think her vision of the game and just her ability to make reads and hold onto the puck is something that definitely makes her successful."

Jaques' success also translates off the ice. She was named the 2022 Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year, chosen from more than 1,000 nominees by "Diverse: Issues in Higher Education." Ashe Sports Scholars must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5, be at least a sophomore academically and active on their campuses or within their communities.

Jaques was the WCHA's Outstanding Student Athlete last season and co-vice president of SHEROs, a campus organization that provides a safe space for women athletes of color to have open discussions and promote diversity in sports. She also volunteers with the 2nd & 7 Foundation in Columbus, which promotes reading by providing free books and positive role models to kids in need while encouraging young athletes of the community to pay it forward.

"Representation matters," Jaques said. "I just hope to show that [hockey] is inclusive and for any little girls out there who may be of color that they can play hockey too and try to grow the inclusiveness of the sport and allow all people a chance to get involved in it no matter if they are a person of color. Just trying to support that has been one of my goals."

What's next for Jaques when her college playing is over? She said she's keeping an eye on the growth and progress of professional women's hockey with the possibility of playing and she's weighing applying her civil engineering degrees in the urban transportation field. She also would like to represent Canada at the Winter Olympics.

"Yeah, the Olympics are everyone's dream," Jaques said. "I'll just focus on it one step at a time and see where things take me."

Photos: Justin Wolford, WCHA