Sarah Fillier, PWHL’s next star, already establishing roots

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Georgetown native and New York Sirens forward Sarah Fillier, the No. 1 pick in the second PWHL draft, has found a home.

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During the team’s two exhibition games, Fillier was a line alongside American standout Alex Carpenter and an underrated Canadian star in her own right (in Fillier’s opinion), Jesse Eldridge.

Fillier was held pointless in her first pre-season game, but had a hat trick against the Toronto Sceptres in the second one.

New York’s season opener is on Dec. 1 in Minnesota against the league’s defending champions.

The Sirens’ top line is a formidable trio that new head coach Greg Fargo admittedly likes but, as would every coach worth his salt, reserves the right to tinker with should the situation change.

Fargo said the idea to put Carpenter and Fillier together became readily apparent once he and his staff dug into what they had.

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“Our staff did a really deep dive on all the players that were coming to camp this off-season to really understand the ins and outs of their game and tried to get familiar with how they acquire pucks and the tendencies of their game,” Fargo, the first-year Sirens coach and a Kingston, Ont., native said.

“We just felt, not that it’s forever, but we felt Alex and Sarah would complement each other really well,” he said. “I think Alex is in good spots in her own zone to get pucks and Sarah can catch people off guard at times with her speed. So, I think it makes for a good combination from the defensive zone out. I think they both handle the puck, see the ice exceptionally well and are really threatening both off the rush and in the O-zone. So far, I have talked to them both individually and they seem to like playing with each other, but I know they’re excited to keep learning from each other too and growing as we move along.”

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Fillier, a veteran of two Olympics and three world championships already in her young career, is no stranger to skilled linemates, having playing alongside the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin and Brianne Jenner with Canada’s national women’s hockey team. She puts Carpenter in that class as well.

“When I think of the U.S. team, I think she is one of the hardest players to play against,” Fillier said. “I think, like coach said, we see the ice the same way, which is super nice when you are coming in fresh and have never played together.”

And Eldridge, a Barrie native and a player with Canadian national team experience, is the perfect third to finish off the line, according to Fillier.

“She plays fast,” Fillier said of Eldridge. “Me and (Carpenter) love to get up and down the ice quick. I think Jesse is a sleeper with how skilled she is. I don’t think she gets the credit she deserves necessarily in this league and how important she is to New York’s lineup.”

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And on top of that, she evens things when it comes to personas on the New York bench.

“She’s just a great personality to have,” Fillier said. “I like to play a little more intense and I get a bit more intense on the bench, but she always keeps it light. She always has a smile on her face and brings a lot to our line.”

Having been around the international game for more than a minute already and having played her collegiate hockey at Princeton, not too far from her new hockey home, has made joining PWHL’s New York franchise rather seamless.

“Honestly I just went in and was myself,” Fillier said of her earliest days with the team. “I carry myself to a very high standard and feel like I have a lot of experience under my belt. This is my first year in the league, but I feel I belong here. All the girls here are so familiar with me as I am with them. I felt super comfortable walking into that locker room and just being exactly myself.”

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