2020 Top 25 Under 25 | No. 15, 16: Chloé Aurard, Jesse Compher

No. 15 | Chloé Aurard
Michelle Jay

The Northeastern forward moves up a few spots in her second year in our Top 25 Under 25 list to 15.

Past Accomplishments

For a player going into her junior year, Aurard’s accomplishments are numerous. She’s averaging 1.10 points per game in her time with Northeastern, after a remarkable season last year. Her 49 points were good for 11th in the nation. She was second on her team to her line mate Alina Mueller. Of the 38 games, Aurard had 14 multi-point games, including two hat tricks and a five point game. In the finals of the Hockey East Championships, she had four points - a goal and three assists - to help her team beat UConn, 9-1. The season was a marked improvement from her freshman year which in and of itself was a strong outing.

Aurard has been part of the French national team program since 2013-14 when she won a U18 Worlds Division I gold medal. She’s add another gold at U18 D1 and a full set of medals (gold, silver, and bronze) at senior Division I as well. She’s notched 36 points across 51 IIHF games with Team France. In 2017-18, she was instrumental in the team moving up to the top division of the senior tournament for 2019. There, she had three points in five games which ended in their relegation back to Division I.

Future Impact

Honestly Aurard’s future impact is sky high.

Northeastern’s national championship run was cut short by the pandemic, in a year that many thought might be their year (though you could argue that also for Cornell or Princeton as well). Given her insane connection to Mueller and the Huskies drive to prove themselves again this next year, I’d expect her to be another key point of the team.

While France may be relegated, they’re ranked 12th in the world meaning they’ll host Division I Group A World Championships. They’ll also be playing for an Olympic spot this season as well in an Olympic Qualifying tournament. Aurard’s NCAA experience will only aid her international play, and help France continue to thrive.

Is This Ranking Too High or Too Low?

I think this spot is just right. At 21, she’s got a bright future ahead of her (read above, obviously), but a shorter resume. Her sophomore season was strong and assuming she continues on this upward trend, I think we’ll see her rise up to top 10 soon.

No. 16 | Jesse Compher
Anne Tokarski

Past Accomplishments

Over the course of her three years at Boston University, there are few awards Jesse Compher hasn’t accumulated. She’s earned selections to the Hockey East all-rookie team, and has been named an all-league first and second team all-star. As a sophomore in 2019, she was a Top 10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award — and those are just her titles as a college athlete.

Compher has her fair share of international acclaim too, as a two time U18 Women’s World Championship gold medalist with Team USA alongside Hockey East competitors Cayla Barnes and Natalie Snodgrass. In 2019, she was named to the American senior roster for the Women’s World Championship, where she contributed an assist en route to the fifth consecutive gold medal for the red, white, and blue.

During the 2019-20 national team season, Compher was named to the December roster for the Rivalry Series, but had a relatively quiet two games. She finished out the season by being named to the 2020 Women’s Worlds roster, though the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Future Impact

Fully recovered from the injury that delayed her junior season, Compher seems ready to make a comeback for her fourth and final year with BU. Her sophomore campaign saw her ranked first in Hockey East and third in the nation in points as she tallied a personal best 17-44—61. With a one last season ahead of her, there’s little stopping Compher from wreaking havoc on her Hockey East opponents with another prolific season.

In terms of international play, it’s very likely that Compher will become a main stay of the American offense after being named to her second straight senior team roster in 2020. She’s yet to produce on the international stage at the same level as she has with the Terriers, but her handful of games against global opponents is too small a sample size to make any final judgements on the impact she’ll have with Team USA over the next several years.

Is This Ranking Too High or Too Low?

This year’s ranking might be just a hair too high for Compher, especially given the fact that her collegiate season was stunted due to injury and she didn’t get a chance to prove herself in Halifax and Truro. That being said, we know what she’s capable of — her sophomore season proved that she’s found her groove in the NCAA, and she has true star potential if she’s given the right opportunities with Team USA. After any other season, 16 would be the perfect ranking for Compher, but given a season hampered by injury and extenuating circumstances, I’d argue that 16 is just a little off the mark.