Would you look at the timing on that? Just when we think we’ve seen the entire incoming class for the 2024 season we get another add. Éloïse Caron- a winger from Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec- signs on late to join the incoming class after announcing her verbal commitment back in February of this year. The 19-year old 5’7″ forward becomes the fifth incoming freshman for the year and the second forward. Caron spent her ’23-’24 campaign with the Cégep Limoilou Titans women’s team in the QCHL. She posted a 25-26-51 split in 24 games, tacking on another 9 goals and 9 assists in her 7 playoff games en route to a title. This performance was good enough for 4th in league points (3rd in goals and 5th in assists). The year prior also saw her win Rookie of the Year honors.
In 2023 Caron was selected to represent Canada in the IIHF U18 World Championship where the team earned gold. Caron has great skating ability and hands for her age, which have helped her create multiple highlight reel breakout goals. The part of her game the Huskies may be most interested in is her physicality. There will be a large void to fill thanks to players such as Meghan Carter and Katy Knoll moving on from the team- a void which can be filled by physical players like Caron. Éloïse finished with the third most penalty minutes in last years QCHL season. While not the stat you necessarily love to see players ranking highly in, it definitely pays testament to her willingness to be aggressive. Many of her goal highlights center around using her body to win puck battles in the neutral and offensive zones and transition quickly to odd-man rushes. Her size and motor make it hard not to make comparisons to the aforementioned Knoll. We’ll see how she adjusts to the college game next season, but her early play have suggested that- much like the rest of the incoming freshmen- she will not shy away from the physical side of the game.
In any case, congrats to Éloïse! We can’t wait to see how she does playing at Matthews next year!
Roll ‘Skies!