Jill Saulnier
Birth dateMarch 7, 1992 (age 34)
Birth placeHalifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height5 ft
Height in5
Weight lb146
PositionForward
ShootsLeft
LeaguePWHL
TeamBoston Fleet
Former teams
Sexf
Ntl teamCanada
Career start2011

Jillian Pauline Saulnier[1][2] (born March 7, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey player who is a forward for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is a two-time Olympian for Canada, winning a gold medal in 2022 and a silver medal in 2018.[3]

Playing career

Saulnier has competed in five Atlantic Challenge Cups. Saulnier has claimed three gold (2003, 2005, 2007) and two silver medals (2006, 2008). She won a gold medal at Nova Scotia provincials with the Halifax Hawks in 2006.[4] Saulnier captained the Halifax Hawks the following season and was named team MVP. She played for Nova Scotia at the 2007 Esso Women's Nationals and was part of the fourth-place team.

At the 2007 National Women's Under-18 Championships, she played for Team Atlantic and finished in fourth. In 2008, Saulnier captained Team Atlantic at the 2008 National Women's Under-18 Championships. The team finished in eighth place, but Saulnier was honoured with the Most Sportsmanlike Player award.[4]

She played for Team Atlantic again at the 2009 National Women's Under-18 Championships and finished in sixth place. That year, Saulnier also played with the Stoney Creek Junior Sabres in Ontario and claimed a silver medal at the OWHA provincials. Two of her teammates on the Stoney Creek Junior Sabres, Laura Fortino and Jessica Wong, would play with her at the 2009 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships in Germany and win a silver medal.[5]

She finished fourth in scoring with the Toronto Jr. Aeros of the Provincial Women's Hockey League in 2009–10. At the league championships, she won a silver medal with Toronto. In 2010, Saulnier won a gold medal with Toronto at the Ontario Women's Hockey Association provincial championship.[4]

NCAA

In February 2011, she committed to join the women's hockey program at Cornell University.[6] In her first three career NCAA games, she registered seven goals and ten points. In her college debut versus Colgate University on October 25, 2011, Saulnier netted four goals.[7] Her four-goal night was the first for Cornell since Jessica Campbell scored four against Robert Morris in the second game of the 2010–11 season. She scored her first career goal when she was out on the Big Red's first power play of the game. In her next game versus the Yale Bulldogs, she registered one goal and two assists while scoring two goals in her third game versus the Brown Bears women's ice hockey squad. For the month of October 2011, she was tied for first in the ECAC in goals scored (while the other player appeared in eight games).[8] In a game on November 1, 2011, the Cornell Big Red scored at least nine goals in one game for the third consecutive contest. It was senior captain Chelsea Karpenko's 100th career game, as Saulnier led all Big Red players with two goals and three assists in a 9–2 triumph over the Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey program.[9]

Hockey Canada

In August 2008, Saulnier was a member of Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team, competing in a three-game series against the United States in Lake Placid. The following year, Saulnier was a member of Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team that competed in a three-game series against the United States in Calgary. Also, in 2009, she won a silver medal with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team at the 2009 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships. In a March 24, 2010, contest versus the OWHA All-Stars, Saulnier played for the Canadian National Under 18 Women's Team. Saulnier would register an assist in the contest as the OWHA All-Stars defeated the Under 18 team by a 3–2 tally.[10] In April 2010 she won a gold medal with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team at the 2010 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships in Chicago,[11] beating Team USA in OT.

She played for Canada's National Women's Under-22 Team in a three-game series vs. the United States in Toronto in August 2010. Saulnier was an assistant captain at the 2010 IIHF Under 18 Women's World Championships.[12] She finished fourth in tournament scoring with four goals and six assists in five games.

On January 11, 2022, Saulnier was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[13][14][15] The team won the gold medal, defeating the United States in the final 3–2.[16][17]

CWHL

Saulnier scored a goal as a member of Team Black in the 2nd Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game.[18]

Appearing with the Calgary Inferno in the 2016 Clarkson Cup finals, Saulnier registered an assist as the Inferno emerged victorious in a convincing 8–3 final.[19]

At the 3rd CWHL All-Star Game, Saulnier and Jess Jones both scored a hat trick,[20] becoming the first competitors in CWHL All-Star Game history to achieve the feat.[21]

On July 12, 2018, Saulnier and teammate Genevieve Lacasse were traded by the Inferno to the Canadiennes de Montreal in exchange for future considerations in the form of player(s) and/or draft pick(s).[22]

PWHL

Saulnier was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 PWHL Draft by New York.[23] She scored her first PWHL goal in the first official PWHL game, a 4–0 victory over Toronto on January 1, 2024.[24] She finished the inaugural season with a goal and an assist in 18 games.[25]

On January 21, 2025, early in the 2024–25 season, Saulnier was traded to the Boston Fleet in exchange for forward Taylor Girard. Both players were pointless in five games to start the year.[26] She finished the season with two goals and three assists in 19 games for the Fleet. On June 18, 2025, she signed a one-year contract extension with the Fleet.[27]

Personal life

Saulnier is a member of the LGBTQ community.[28]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2008–09Stoney Creek Jr. SabresProv. WHL28142539128471112
2009–10Toronto Jr. AerosProv. WHL261916352061786
2010–11Toronto Jr. AerosProv. WHL141662210211216
2011–12Cornell UniversityECAC3322305227—————
2012–13Cornell UniversityECAC3010334330—————
2013–14Cornell UniversityECAC3428285637—————
2014–15Cornell UniversityECAC2820244432—————
2015–16Calgary InfernoCWHL221210221631340
2016–17Calgary InfernoCWHL201171812—————
2017–18CanadaAMHL (Men's) 1526810—————
2018–19Les Canadiennes de MontréalCWHL201217291241456
2020–21MontrealPWHPA42024—————
2022–23Team AdidasPWHPA2019106—————
2023–24PWHL New YorkPWHL1811210—————
2024–25New York SirensPWHL50000—————
2024–25Boston FleetPWHL192358—————
PWHL totals4234718—————

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2009CanadaU1850334
2010CanadaU18546102
2015CanadaWC50110
2016CanadaWC51234
2018CanadaOG51120
2019CanadaWC70116
2021CanadaWC70004
2022CanadaOG70220
Junior totals1049136
Senior totals3627914

Awards and honours

Cornell

  • 2012 Recipient, Cornell Class of '14 Rookie of the Year Award[29]
  • Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society

References

  1. ^ Staffieri, Mark (February 15, 2019). "CWHL All-Star Series: Jill Saulnier | Les Canadiennes De Montreal". Women's Hockey Life. Archived October 4, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Palmeter, Paul (April 30, 2019). "Jill Saulnier's hockey career at crossroads due to CWHL folding". CBC News. Archived August 26, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Jillian Saulnier". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. December 22, 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  4. ^ Johnson, Meaghen (2021-08-18). "Team Canada player profile: Jill Saulnier - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  5. ^ "Waterloo Breaking News – Waterloo's Online Newspaper – WaterlooChronicle.ca". WaterlooChronicle.ca. Archived February 4, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  6. ^ "11 – 12 NCAA National Collegiate Commitments Listing – Team". Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ "Saulnier Notches Four Goals in First Career Game As Cornell Tops Colgate". Cornell University. October 25, 2011. Archived March 4, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  8. ^ "ECAC Hockey". ECAC Hockey. Archived December 24, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  9. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey Scores Nine Goals For Third Consecutive Game in Blowout of Syracuse". Cornell University. Archived March 3, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  10. ^ "The Official Website of Hockey Canada". hockeycanada.ca. Archived February 4, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "player-profile". www.hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  12. ^ "Game Summary"
  13. ^ Awad, Brandi (11 January 2022). "Team Canada's women's hockey roster revealed for Beijing 2022". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived January 22, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Canada's 2022 Olympic women's hockey team roster". Canadian Press. 11 January 2022. Archived January 12, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  15. ^ "2022 Olympic Winter Games (Women)". www.hockeycanada.ca/. Hockey Canada. 11 January 2022. Archived January 15, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Olympic gold-medalist Jill Saulnier returns to Halifax". Atlantic. 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  17. ^ Tozer, Jamie (2022-02-17). "Team Canada wins women's hockey gold at Beijing 2022". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  18. ^ "TEAM BLACK WINS 2016 CWHL ALL-STAR GAME". Canadiennes de Montreal. January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  19. ^ "2016 Clarkson Cup". cwhl. March 13, 2016. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  20. ^ "Jones shines in CWHL All-Star Game". Mississauga.com. February 13, 2017. Archived September 21, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  21. ^ Staffieri, Mark (2017-02-23). "Jillian Saulnier Soars to Greatness in Classic CWHL All-Star Game | Women's Hockey Life". Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  22. ^ Tammy Schwass. "LES CANADIENNES ACQUIRE OLYMPIANS GENEVIÈVE LACASSE AND JILLIAN SAULNIER". Calgary Inferno. Archived July 27, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  23. ^ Mulligan, Preston (19 September 2023). "Nova Scotians make history in first Professional Women's Hockey League draft". CBC. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Halifax's Jill Saulnier on scoring goal in PWHL's first official game". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  25. ^ Ryan, Conor (January 21, 2025). "Boston Fleet acquire forward Jill Saulnier in trade with Sirens". Boston.com. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  26. ^ Salvian, Hailey (January 21, 2025). "New York Sirens send Jill Saulnier to Boston Fleet for Taylor Girard in second trade of PWHL season". The Athletic. The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  27. ^ "Fleet reach contract extensions with Saulnier and Schafzahl". thepwhl.com. June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  28. ^ Outsports: At least 35 out LGBTQ athletes in Beijing Winter Olympics, a record Archived March 25, 2022 at the Wayback Machine, January 2022
  29. ^ "Women's Hockey Announces Year-End Awards at Team Banquet". Cornell University. Archived May 29, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 30, 2012.