Goaltender Making Big Contributions to Ottawa Gee Gees

As the Ottawa Gee Gees look to gain national prominence, a component to their success may come from former Ivy League goaltender Cassie Seguin. Prior to playing at renowned Princeton University, Seguin already had a very distinguished career.

In 2008, Seguin won the gold medal at the Provincial Championships (in Ontario) while grabbing a silver with the Ottawa Senators at the PWHL championships. At the 2008 Under-18 Nationals, she stood between the pipes for Team Ontario Red and posted a 3-0 record with a sparkling 1.19 GAA. She would follow it up with PWHL gold in 2009. In addition, Seguin played for the Canadian National Under-18 team that claimed the silver medal at the 2009 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships.

Although she is now a goaltender for the Gee Gees, Seguin has also contributed to the team as its manager.

“It was a good experience. You see a different side of the game and it is nice to see what goes on behind the scenes.” She has also engaged in charitable work with the program, deriving enjoyment and gratification from it. “It is a great feeling to make someone smile by telling them they did something good, acknowledging their goals.”

Her experience with the Canadian National Team is one she will always treasure.

“It was great when we went to Fussen, Germany. An incredible experience.” Some of her teammates included Melodie Daoust, Brianne Jenner, Jillian Saulnier and Marie-Philip Poulin. “I always wanted to play for the national team. You learn what it takes.”

With the Princeton Tigers, she played for Jeff Kampersal for two seasons (2009-11). During the 2009-10 campaign, she posted a record of 5-6-3 with a respectable 2.25 GAA. Her first two career wins were nothing short of legendary.

On November 6, 2009, she posted a shutout against the Yale Bulldogs, while blanking the Brown Bears the following day. For her efforts, she earned the ECAC Rookie of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week Awards for the week of November 9, 2009.

“I learned team chemistry is a really important aspect to the game. I am glad I did it. I got to experience NCAA Division I and played against the best of the world. It was enjoyable, and made good friends," she said.

While Hobey Baker may be the most famous men’s player in Princeton hockey history (he influenced F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise), the women’s team was greatly influenced by former women’s player, the late Patty Kazmaier-Sandt.

The award which recognizes the most outstanding player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey is named in Kazmaier’s honor. “She [Kazmaier] is an influential part of Princeton. A tradition at Princeton is a banner that is put up which says, Make Patty Proud! She is a big part of the Princeton women’s hockey experience.”

The articulate Seguin approaches her job with great alacrity, while maintaining goals for the short term and long term.

“Short term, we have to take it game by game. We will gradually improve over the season and we will do our best as a team. We co-operate well with each other.”

With great maturity, she discusses her long term goals, “I just love hockey. At the end of my playing career, my goal is to complete my education and become a sports psychologist. I want to work with high level athletes. I love learning about experiences.”

All quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise indicated