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Top 25 Under 25

2020 Top 25 Under 25 | No. 5: Victoria Bach

The BU alum made a strong showing in the few games Team Canada was able to play.

Victoria Bach is making her third appearance on our Top 25 Under 25 list, dropping from the second spot last year to fifth spot.

2020 Top 25 Under 25 | The List

Past Accomplishments

Following the closing of the CWHL, Bach moved to the PWHPA. She appeared in four Dream Gap Tour showcases - both Toronto stops, the Chicago stop, and the Philadelphia stop. She also played a few PWHPA Live! events as well. With no centrally recorded stats for those games, its hard to quantify her play with them, but it goes without saying that she’s good.

She saw significant time with Team Canada in their shortened, strange National Team season where they mostly only played Team USA. The forward was rostered for on the November Pittsburgh series, the Rivalry Series, and the cancelled World Championships. It would have been her first senior Worlds tournament.

In the seven games she played with Team Canada, she had five points (four goals and one assist). Her two goals in the November series were second on the team. Her two Rivalry Series goals led the team in the five-game series, one of which was an overtime game-winning goal for Team Canada’s first win of the series.

None of that should be exactly a surprise after Bach burst onto the CWHL scene in 2018-2019, what would be their final season. She was the Rookie of the Year, netting 32 points (19 goals and 13 assists), tying her for fourth in the league. On the Markham Thunder, she was first on her team in goals and points. If you can remember, the Thunder put up a huge playoff push in the second half of the season, and Bach played a huge part in that, scoring 11 goals in 12 games.

All of this was just laying in wait based on Bach’s play at Boston University. Here are all the records she holds:

  • Only player to score four goals in more than one game (11/17/17 and 12/7/17)
  • Most goals in a single season: 39 in 2017-18
  • Most points in a single season: 67 in 2017-18
  • fAll-time goals leader: 104
  • All-time points leader: 198
  • Second Terrier to be a Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalist (2018)
  • Second in shorthanded goals in a season: 4 in 2017-18
  • Third in all-time assists: 94
  • Second in career power-play goals: 21/

Future Impact

I don’t think it’s any stretch to say Bach is the future of Hockey Canada, especially considering they rostered her for every event last season. Her play in the games against the Americans was strong and showcased exactly the type of player she is.

She scored in clutch situations and showed off her vision on the ice. She fit right in on a line with fellow BU alum Marie-Philip Poulin, which speaks volumes about just how good she already is at age 24. Bach will only get better as time goes on and I think she’ll be a mainstay on team Canada for a long while, bridging the “age gap” we’re going to inevitably see as the long time Canadian National Team players start to retire and the program brings in younger talent.

Is this ranking too high or too low?

I said it before with Emily Clark: it’s probably too low because the 2019-2020 season was such a different type of season. Between the National Team schedule being cut in multiple places (no 4 Nations and no Worlds) and the PWHPA’s sudden introduction, it was definitely tough to figure out where Bach fell on this list. It is probably too low just because of her National Team play, but knowing the rest of the list, she’s also in a good spot too.

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