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By Joshua Clipperton
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BRAMPTON, Ont. — Sarah Fillier remembers the primary time she walked into Canada’s locker room.
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The 18-year-old did what any fan would do.
She instantly whipped out her smartphone in entrance of girls’s hockey famous person Marie-Philip Poulin’s empty stall.
“I took an image and despatched it to my mates,” Fillier, now 22, recalled with a large smile. “I used to be like, ‘That is the craziest second of my life.’ I nonetheless get that feeling typically. All my mates are nonetheless like that — they’re so shocked I get to play together with her day-after-day.
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“And all the opposite names.”
After bursting onto the worldwide stage with emphatic, assassin-like precision, Fillier’s teammates have an identical feeling.
“When she got here round, we knew she was gifted,” stated Poulin, Canada’s captain. “But it surely’s greater than that. It’s the little particulars, little habits. She has a robust stick. She sees the sport nicely. As a hockey participant and as an individual, she’s nice.
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“Very blissful to see her going alongside and being such a robust participant for us.”
The five-foot-five, 143-pound water-bug ahead with a grimy blond braid dangling out the again of her helmet has been darting across the ice for Canada on the ladies’s world hockey championship, main her nation with 4 objectives and three assists as consideration now shifts to Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup with Sweden.
“Quite a lot of younger gamers have an adjustment if you get to this degree,” stated veteran Canadian ahead Brianne Jenner. “It’s a bit of bit faster, you could have much less time to make choices, it’s bodily.
“She’s an enormous a part of our crew success. When she’s flying across the ice, it offers momentum to the remainder of the roster.”
Fillier helped Canada win gold at her first worlds contained in the Calgary bubble in 2021 with six factors.
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Then got here her breakout in Beijing the place the Georgetown, Ont., native scored eight occasions and assisted three others on the best way to securing Olympic gold.
“Each time you possibly can have a expertise like that in your crew, it’s thrilling,” stated linemate Natalie Spooner. “That she’s in a position to hold it going, we’re fairly fortunate.”
Fillier, who lately completed her third season at Princeton College within the NCAA, then led Canada with 5 objectives and 6 assists on the 2022 worlds in Denmark, together with the setup on Jenner’s winner within the gold-medal recreation in opposition to america.
The speedster added a purpose and an help in opposition to the U.S. in Monday’s 4-3 shootout victory that cemented prime spot in Group A as a part of her haul to this point in Brampton.
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“Undoubtedly a shock,” Fillier stated of the speedy and sustained success carrying the Maple Leaf. “Every single day enjoying with individuals who I idolized rising up, I nonetheless get goosebumps in that locker room.
“However I’ve been working behind the scenes extremely arduous.”
That included taking a yr off from faculty earlier than the Olympics to hone her recreation.
“Only a particular participant,” Canadian head coach Troy Ryan stated. “She could be dominant at occasions. When she’s at her greatest, she’s virtually like a shark.
“Lurking and able to strike.”
That comes from normally being one of many smaller gamers on the ice since she first laced up her skates.
“Typically I gained’t be capable of outmuscle larger defenders,” Fillier defined. “I have to be a bit of bit extra hidden within the weeds and simply leap on pucks and be a bit of bit extra sneaky.”
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Realizing she was seemingly the following huge identify within the sport, Hockey Canada made positive the fresh-faced ahead acquired as a lot time with Poulin as doable early on.
“She will be able to type of lean on that and look to issues she needs to perform down the street,” Ryan stated. “We used to match them collectively, room them collectively.”
Canada blew Sweden’s doorways off on the Olympics in an 11-0 quarterfinal romp accented by a Fillier hat trick, however solely bested the Europeans 3-0 on the similar stage of the 2022 worlds again in September.
“They’re a giant, robust bodily crew,” Fillier stated. “They’re not going to shrink back from that physicality in opposition to us.”
Other than getting ready for the Swedes — Canada is 10-0 all-time in opposition to Thursday’s opponent on the worlds — she has to seek out time to prep for her college exams subsequent month alongside teammate Claire Thompson, who’s working her means by way of medical faculty.
“We’ve our little examine group,” Fillier stated. “Professors have been tremendous straightforward and relaxed about me lacking loads of class.”
The 2023 ladies’s world are principally in her yard — though Fillier hasn’t seen a lot of it.
Brampton and Georgetown are proper subsequent to one another within the Better Toronto Space, which means there’s been loads of hometown help from her family and friends.
“It’s good to be house,” Fillier stated. “However bizarre to get dropped off on the resort to fall asleep.”
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