Emma Vlasic: Sights On Season Six

One of the most encouraging developments last year for the ConnecticutbWhale was the the emergence of #15 Emma Vlasic, as one of the elite players in the National Women’s hockey league. After an outstanding career with the Yale University Bulldogs, Emma hit the ground running with the Pod. The hard working center led the Whale in goals, shots on goal, and face-off win percentage, a category she was at or near the top of the league standings all season long. She was a workhorse as well, and besides centering her regular shift ot between Grace Klienbach and Sarah Hughson for most of the season, she was a key part of the Whale special teams. Emma also led all Whale forward’s in blocked shots. Emma commented on the blocked shots saying

"I didn’t realize that! I didn’t know that statistic. That’s something that I think is a product of playing center, and just kind of being in front of the net and trying to block shots some of the time. It was definitely something I wanted to get better at. I think all of the defensemen in this league do such a good job of shooting the puck and getting it through, so I think it is really important to block shots. And I think you kind of see that against the better teams especially, you have to make sure you’re in the lanes. It was something I wanted to work on and focus on, because I think I definitely need to improve in that department. It’s always something to work on, it’s always a challenge especially with players who release the puck so quickly, and you also have to be in the right spot obviously. But again, probably a product of playing center and being in the middle of the ice, but it’s encouraging to hear that at least I attempted to block some shots:) Trying to play a two way game is what I pride myself on, and I think working on my defensive game was definitely something I wanted to do, and you are always able to improve offensively too. It was a lot of fun trying to create offense and also play a good defensive game I definitely pride myself on trying to play a two way game and helping my team out in our zone so that we can try to create in the offensive zone.”

Another aspect of Emma’s rookie season that really stood out to Cetacean Nation was the success she had in switching it up and centering a brand new set of linemates down the stretch. When Allie LaCombe and Katelynn Russ joined the Pod late in the season, Emma became their center. Emma revealed
"I loved playing with Grace and Sarah and they’re two really good players, and I definitely enjoyed playing with them. But towards the end of the season we had some new additions. And with Katelynn Russ, we played on the same team in my hometown, for the Chicago Young Americans. So we both have history dating back quite a while before college, and she obviously ended up playing at Union (a Yale rival), so I was definitely familiar with her. And then Allie LaCombe also is a very good player and also someone who kind of forced me to elevate my game too. It was really fun playing with them and we definitely had that chemistry, and I think we probably would have liked to score a couple of more goals but we got very close so many times. We kept telling ourselves it would go in. And it did in Buffalo , I thought we played pretty well in Buffalo for the first play-off game. But I think if we had played together for a longer period of time I think you would have seen a lot more offense kind of develop later on, But even in the brief time we were able to play together we were starting to create a lot, and definitely it was a lot of fun playing with those girls"

We also asked Emma to reflect back on her rookie season, and what else stood out for her that we hadn’t touched on. She said
“It was such a great experience, and I met so many great people We had a great staff obviously, but also just meeting the girls on the team and kind of just getting to know everyone was just really good. And I think we had a really good team dynamic, and like I said, everyone was really easy to be around. We would have a good time and just have a lot of fun, just going to practice Tuesday or Thursday. Then obviously getting together for games on the weekend. So schedule-wise definitely a lot different than college, but I think that I was able to adjust as the season went on and kind of figure out what I need to do to play at this level and I think and as we had talked about, the future looks bright for this group I did have a great rookie season and just hope that I can continue to be a part of this group and see where we can take it. We had a lot of people who contributed in a lot of different ways. We had a lot of people who were willing to do what it took to win games. Obviously, we did struggle in the regular season, but I think it was obviously very clear that we improved along the way. And I think you saw that in a lot of individual players too, and the way that they were able to elevate their individual game, and that allowed the team collectively to be better down the stretch. We are definitely a hard working team, there’s no doubt about that.”

You can find out more about Emma and what's happening with your Pod on our website www.nwhl-cetaceans.com and by following Cetacean Nation social media sites on Facebook (Cetacean Nation Hockey), Twitter (@nation_cetacean) & on Instagram (cetacean_nation_hockey) As we say around the rink in Danbury, Fins Up!