Two more Cornellians entered the professional sports realm on Monday, as former Cornell women’s hockey members Cassandra Poudrier ’16 and Taylor Woods ’16 were selected in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League Draft alongside 74 other players.
The Montreal Les Canadiennes picked defenseman Poudrier at the 10th pick overall in the draft. She is now the sixth Cornellian to be drafted in the first 10 picks of the past four CWHL drafts.
In the fifth round, the Brampton Thunder, located in Southern Ontario, selected former Red forward Woods with the 23rd overall pick. Poudrier and Woods now make it 10 former Cornell women playing professional hockey at the current moment, in both the CWHL and National Women’s Hockey League, the professional league within the United States.
The pair were able to get drafted by putting up solid numbers and exhibiting quality hockey during their time with the Red.
Poudrier managed to tally 19 goals and 54 assists during her time 121 games at Cornell. The former captain was also named to Team Canada alongside two other teammates in December of 2015.
Poudrier’s 2015-16 season was highlighted by a career-high 84 blocked shots. In a key conference matchup against Dartmouth in January, the defenseman scored a game-winner in a 5-3 victory over the Green.
With her stout defending, Poudrier also collected many accolades over her four years. She was named to the ECAC Hockey all-tournament team in 2015 and second-team all-Ivy in 2016.
Like Poudrier, Woods was also named to second-team last year, and during her first season in 2013, she was named to the ECAC Hockey all-tournament team. It was in that postseason that Woods scored a hat trick, along with an assist, in the semifinals against St. Lawrence.
Woods played forward mostly for Cornell, but was also deployed at defense from time to time. In 130 career games, the Manitoba native totaled 80 points, with 33 goals and 47 assists.
Woods and Poudrier join many other Cornellians in the CWHL. Five former members of the Red currently play for the 2016 Clarkson Cup champion, the Calgary Inferno. Woods is reunited with Laura Fortino ’13 on the Thunder, and Poudrier will join Lauriane Rougeau ’13 in Montreal.