Minnesota’s Sophie Jaques is building a legacy on and off the ice

When we caught up with Minnesota Frost star defender Sophie Jaques on the phone last Tuesday, things did not look great for the Frost’s playoff chances. Minnesota was coming off a 2-0 loss, at home, to last-place New York, and suddenly needed two straight road wins—against desperate opponents—to qualify for the PWHL Playoffs.

The math may not have been in Minnesota’s favor, but Jaques was unfazed. “It just shows the depth in this league,” Jaques said calmly. “We still have a chance if we win both of our games. It just goes to show how good the league is. We had a couple bad bounces not go our way, gave up some goals in the last two minutes... if one of those hadn’t been scored, we’d already have the points to be in the playoffs.”

Jaques’ words proved entirely prophetic. The Frost shut out the Charge, 3-0, Wednesday night in Ottawa, and then absolutely ambushed the Boston Fleet in the season finale Saturday, 8-1. Jaques more than did her part in the crucial win, notching two goals and an assist.   

Queen behavior, indeed.

Just like that, the defending champs were back in the playoffs, where they will take on the Toronto Sceptres in a rematch of last year’s semifinal matchup. Not that overcoming odds or accomplishing greatness is anything new for Sophie Jaques.

At just 24, she is already one of the most compelling talents in the PWHL, a poised two-way defender whose on-ice talent is matched by her off-ice intelligence and humility. From NCAA titles to Canadian National Team call-ups and a wild first professional season, Jaques has handled it all with a steady resolve that belies her age.

Jaques grew up in Toronto and fell in love with hockey like many local kids. She set her sights on playing college hockey in the U.S. and committed to Ohio State University, joining a women’s hockey program that had graduated some amazing individual players but had not really made its mark on the national stage. That changed during Jaques’ time there.

“When we all committed to Ohio State, they were a .500 team,” Jaques recalls. “I don’t think they’d won any championships in women’s hockey. To win a national championship my senior year was really special.”

That championship was more than a trophy. It was the culmination of years of program-building and a testament to the culture Jaques helped shape. “There was so much growth. At the beginning of my career, we were begging people to come to games. By the end, they were turning fans away at the door,” Jaques says with pride.

But her accomplishments, which are honestly too long to list here but included winning the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the nation’s top player when she played one more year in Columbus as a graduate student, weren’t confined to the rink.

Facebook @ohiostatewomenshockey / Via Facebook.com 

Jaques, who is Black, earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in engineering during her time in Columbus—no small feat while balancing the demands of elite athletics, and she was named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year in 2022, an award that celebrates academic and athletic excellence among student-athletes of color.”

Jaques was the 10th pick in the inaugural PWHL draft in 2023, going to a Boston team and market that was excited to have her and recognized the significance of her career. Alas, after just seven games with the Fleet, Jaques was sent to Minnesota as the centerpiece of the first trade in PWHL history.

“I just got a phone call from the Boston GM. Not much notice,” Jaques recalled. “I found out on a Sunday evening, and my flight left Monday morning.”

It was a sudden shift, but quick turnarounds like that come with the territory in professional sports. It could have rattled just about any player, but Jaques landed on her feet thanks to a familiar face. “One reason I was able to adjust pretty quickly is because [Minnesota] had Liz Schepers from Ohio State on the team,” Jaques explained. “She had space for me to live in her home, so I didn’t have to stay in a hotel. That made it really easy for me, and meant I didn’t have too much to worry about off the ice. On-ice came natural and was pretty easy.”

Jaques played 15 regular-season games for Minnesota last season, notching two goals and eight assists, and hitting her stride along with her teammates right when it mattered most.

After qualifying for the playoffs as the fourth and final seed on the last day of the regular season (sound familiar?), Minnesota hit its stride at just the right time. “We had some highs and lows and were just able to have success when it counted,” recalled Jaques of a run that saw Minnesota overcome a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five first round series against Toronto before beating Boston in another five-game series in the PWHL Finals to capture the first-ever Walter Cup.

The team celebrated its win that late-May night and again at various times throughout last offseason, but one of the sweetest moments came recently, when last year’s champions were each presented with an official Championship ring.

“It sucks we lost that night, but it was still a great evening,” Jaques said of April 27, when the Frost lost to the Sirens but then got honored in a powerful post-game ring ceremony. “We were able to be in the moment and celebrate it. Then the next morning we were right back at it, preparing for the next game.”

Jaques’ unwavering focus and steady, offensive-minded play from the blue line has caught the attention of Hockey Canada, and she had a key role on Canada’s silver-medal team at last month’s IIHF Women’s World Championship.

“Worlds was a great experience,” she said. “[Czechia] did a great job hosting. Getting to spend time with the national team was a lot of fun. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but there were lots of takeaways for my career.”

Don’t be surprised if the next big step in her international career includes an appearance in next February’s winter Olympics. “I had a good experience with the girls and staff, and [the Olympics] are definitely something I want to work towards” Jaques said. “I’ll take any opportunities I can get.”

Though her career is still in its early chapters, Jaques is already acutely aware of her role as a role model—especially for girls of color.

“At the start, I didn’t realize what a big deal that would be,” said Jaques, who finished the regular season with 7 goals, 15 assists and 22 points. “But now I see how many young girls look up to us and the impact we’re having on them. It’s really cool. That’s definitely a reason to keep playing—to inspire more girls to play the game of hockey and keep it growing.”

Part of Jaques’ commitment to her studies at Ohio State was because she wanted a solid career in engineering. “I figured I’d use [the degrees] in a few years,” she explained of a secondary college career that began before the PWHL was even a dream. “But with the PWHL now, I’m planning to play as long as I can. Hockey’s a fun game, and I’m seeing where it takes me.”