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CWHL

Women’s Hockey Top 25 Under 25 | Number 3 - Emerance Maschmeyer

After her breakout performance at the 2016 World Championships, what's next for Maschmeyer?

Goalie Emerance Maschmeyer is on the podium with a bronze medal in the inaugural Top 25 Under 25 championships.

At only 22, Maschmeyer has proven herself to be one of Team Canada’s superstars. From her time at Harvard to her current role on Les Canadiennes de Montreal, Maschmeyer’s protection of the net is exhilarating to watch.

Past Accomplishments

Maschmeyer spent her college career at Harvard, playing all four years. She began her career with a strong start, winning her collegiate debut. She ended her freshman year on a high as well, winning the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. By the end of her four years at Harvard, Maschmeyer had quite a few titles under her belt. She was nominated for ECAC Goaltender of the Year three times, winning once. She also broke Harvard’s record for all-time career saves with 2,538.

After college, Maschmeyer was drafted by the NWHL’s Boston Pride in the league's junior draft, though she eventually ended up with the CWHL’s Calgary Inferno as their first round pick.

But she broke out in a big way on the international stage in 2016.

After earning a spot on the 2015 Worlds roster, Maschmeyer rejoined Team Canada at the 2016 Word Championships, where she quickly established herself as the starter for the Canadians. In five games played, she allowed just four goals. Her legendary duel with Alex Rigsby in an overtime gold-medal game proved that she was the real deal, even though she did finish with a silver medal. She finished Worlds with a .956 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average. She was also named best goaltender of the tournament.

Things were interesting for Maschmeyer in her first CWHL season — she joined a team that had 2016 Clarkson Cup MVP Delayne Brian on its roster and that traded for Genevieve Lacasse after it drafted Maschmeyer.

Maschmeyer, who deserved to get starting minutes even as a CWHL rookie, had to ride a goaltending carousel all season, playing just eight games and finishing with a .946 save percentage and a 1.49 goals against average.

She lost her starting role as Canada's netminder at the most recent World Championships - after her stellar performance the year prior, she dressed for just two games and played in only one, allowing three goals in a loss to Finland.

Future Impact

Maschmeyer made headlines when it was announced in April that she wouldn't return to the Inferno this season and will instead suit up for Les Canadiennes de Montreal.

That would have been news enough, but then Charline Labonte announced her retirement from hockey, and suddenly Maschmeyer has been thrust into the spotlight yet again.

The starting job is hers to lose in Montreal with Labonte (who calls herself one of Maschmeyer's biggest fans) gone, and how she responds to regular minutes will give fans a good indicator of where she stands now. She had a rough go at Worlds and then, to add insult to injury, didn't make Canada's centralization roster as a regular (she'll serve as an alternate goaltender) and this gives her a chance at redemption, so to speak. Without having to share a crease, Maschmeyer has a chance to show the league what she's truly capable of.

Is this ranking too high or too low?

The last year was a bit of a roller-coaster for Maschmeyer. She was snubbed for the CWHL's Goaltender of the Year award (granted, she was on a team with both Genevieve Lacasse and Delayne Brian) and got no playing time at Worlds before getting left off Canada's centralization roster, instead serving as an alternate for the national team.

This ranking may be a bit high because of that, but here's the thing- Maschmeyer  has the talent to fit this spot. We've all seen what she's capable of, and just because she's not on Canada's national roster this year doesn't mean she isn't one of the top goaltenders in women's hockey.

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