Cornell women’s hockey head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 formally welcomed seven new members onto the team as part of the Class of 2024.
The new Cornellians will fill the void left by six skaters who graduated last spring, including three Patty Kazmaier Award nominees in defensemen Jaime Bourbonnais and Micah Zandee-Hart and forward Kristin O’Neill.
Lily Delianedis (Edina, Minn.)
Delianedis played as a forward at the Blake School, located in Minnesota. A team captain, she notched 68 total points in the 2019-20 season and racked up numerous honors, including Team MVP and All-Metro First Team. In addition, she was named a finalist for Ms. Hockey 2020, an award recognizing the best high school hockey player in Minnesota.
Deanna Fraser (East Hants, Nova Scotia)
As the lone goaltender in this year’s class, Fraser will develop behind senior netminders Lindsay Browning and Ally Dalaya. Jeff MacLeod, Fraser’s coach at King’s-Edgehill School, had high praise for the goaltender in an interview with Saltwire.
“Frasier is one of the best goaltenders for her age, and she has done well in our prep league and also with Team Nova Scotia at the Canada Games,” MacLeod said.
Kaitlin Jockims (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Jockims completed her final season of pre-collegiate hockey at the Edge School following three seasons with the Saskatoon Stars. At the Edge School, she led the Canadian Sport School Hockey League in scoring, totaling 52 points on 31 goals and 21 assists.
Not only did Jockims play hockey, she also excelled in basketball, suiting up for the Basketball Saskatchewan’s provincial teams. Greg Slobodzian, the head coach of the Stars, complimented her ability to juggle two sports.
“I honestly don’t know how she does it because of the ability to play at that level — it’s more time than anything,” Slobodzian said in an interview with Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “It’s quite remarkable what she’s able to do at that level. She’s so, so strong in both. I think her vision with basketball has really helped her hockey and vice versa. The two sports complement one another quite well.”
Ashley Messier (Wilcox, Saskatchewan)
Jockims is not the only icer to represent the Stars as Messier, a 5-foot-3 defenseman, skated three seasons with Saskatoon as well. After Saskatoon, Messier spent the past season with Selects Hockey Academy, where she helped lead the team to a New York state title.
Representing Team Canada in the 2020 U18 Women’s World Championship, Messier helped lead her squad to a silver medal. During the 2019 iteration of the same event, she was named the team’s most valuable player as she also notched a silver medal.
Gabbie Rud (St. Cloud, Minn.)
During her five years at St. Cloud High, Rud established herself as a prolific scoring forward. In five seasons, she accumulated 202 total points. She also led the team in scoring for three of those five seasons.
Rud hails from a big hockey family. Her father, Eric Rud, is the current head coach of the St. Cloud State women’s hockey team. Meanwhile, her two brothers, Sam and Max, are also involved in the sport, and Sam went on to play collegiate hockey at St. Cloud State.
Abby Ruggiero (Amherst, N.Y.)
Ruggerio spent several seasons with the Buffalo Regals as a captain and guided the team to a state championship in 2017. That same year, she also committed to Cornell, a decision she explained in an interview with Neutral Zone.
“I did of course dream of playing hockey at an Ivy League college, but I never thought I would have the opportunity to play at one,” Ruggerio said. “After going through this process, I felt Cornell was my dream school because it is as good as any school academically, it has always been a highly ranked D1 program, I loved the campus and it is close to home. It is just an amazing school overall.”
Claudia Yu (Stouffville, Ontario)
Yu competed on the club level as a forward with the Toronto Aeros, chipping in 26 points during the 2019-20 season. She also contributed to Team Ontario Red’s 2019 National Women’s U18 Championship.