High school hockey: Potsdam's Emerson commits to resuming career at nearby St. Lawrence
Nov. 15—POTSDAM — The long road from high school standout to college prospect ended nearby for Potsdam senior Kennedy Emerson.
"It's nice to stay close to home," said Emerson, just prior to a short ceremony at the school auditorium Monday afternoon where she signed the national letter of intent to continue her ice hockey career with Division I St. Lawrence University.
A talent on the ice since she first put on a Sandstoners jersey as a seventh-grader, Emerson competed for the Potsdam high school team until last winter when she eventually earned a spot on the Nepean Junior Wildcats. Based near Ottawa, the Wildcats compete in the Ontario Women's Hockey Association's Elite U22 League and Emerson joined the team midway through the 2021-22 season. The junior women's ice hockey league is considered to be the highest level of junior women's amateur ice hockey in Ontario, and is sanctioned by Hockey Canada and the Ontario Women's Hockey Association.
A member of the blueline in Nepean, Emerson made an immediate impact in generating 11 points on four goals and seven assists in just 25 games. So far this season, the Wildcats are 7-5-2 and stand in fifth place out of 26 teams in the league.
"It's been quite a long journey for Kennedy," said Joe Stark, who coached Emerson through her high school career at Potsdam. "She's worked really hard to have this opportunity presented to her and she's done everything to take advantage of it."
"We've had a number of great players but she's one of the few to have scored more than 100 goals," he added. "I know that St. Lawrence coach Chris Wells has been interested in Kennedy for quite some time now and this is a big day for her. I'm sure she's going to keep working hard and be a real asset to their program."
Along with being a leading contributor to sectional championship teams at Potsdam, Emerson played a lead role on area minor hockey squads that won several New York State AHA championships including the Potsdam Icestorm and the Canton-based St. Lawrence Steel.
In committing to attend St. Lawrence, Emerson joins an impressive list of Sandstoners who went on to compete for the Saints. The women's hockey program at SLU rose to the NCAA Division I ranks for the 1998-99 season. Potsdam graduate Lindsay (Charlesbois) LaSala was the first to make an impact on the program, serving as captain for the 2003-04 season. More recently, Kalie Grant was named captain for the 2019-20 season and after a four-year career at SLU, was named the head coach of the women's hockey progam at SUNY Canton this past August.
Among the colleges showing interest in Emerson along with SLU, were Clarkson University, Syracuse University, Colgate and Brown. Should she land a spot on the Saints roster next winter, she would have the chance to skate with two other former Potsdam standouts — current junior forward Gabi Jones and freshman forward Kennedy Wilson.
"Having three of our former players on the same Division I team would be pretty special," Stark said.
