T
he arrival of the Professional Women’s Hockey League couldn’t have come at a better time for Jaques. Wrapping up her Master’s degree in civil engineering, she stuck around in Columbus until August 2023 to finish writing her thesis. By the time she emerged from that cloud, the wait for the league’s details to come into focus was over, the inaugural draft only a month away. Even better, the historic first draft brought Jaques full-circle, her step into the professional ranks coming just a half-hour away from the rink where she took her first spins.
“To attend the draft in my hometown, in Toronto, where it kind of all started, it was really, really special,” she says of that night at the CBC headquarters.
More history came her way, as Jaques became the first Black player and the first Buckeyes alum drafted to the new league. But even after a college career that saw her rack up that historic national title, even after her nod as the best player in college hockey, the ever-humble Jaques still found herself stunned as the moment arrived, her name called out at 10th overall, her parents by her side.
“I honestly think I was once again in shock hearing my name actually get called,” she says. “I had no idea when I was going to be drafted, so hearing my name called 10th overall by Boston was really special to me. I was just so excited to have been selected, to get started.”