Jillian Saulnier

Jillian Pauline Saulnier (born March 7, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey forward for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is a two-time Olympian for Canada, winning a gold medal in 2022 and a silver medal in 2018.

Playing career

Saulnier has competed in five Atlantic Challenge Cups. Saulnier has claimed three gold (2003, 2005, 2007) and two silver medals (2006, 2008). She won a gold medal at Nova Scotia provincials with the Halifax Hawks in 2006. Saulnier captained the Halifax Hawks the following season and was named team MVP. She played for Nova Scotia at the 2007 Esso Women's Nationals and was part of the fourth-place team.

At the 2007 National Women's Under-18 Championships, she played for Team Atlantic and finished in fourth. In 2008, Saulnier captained Team Atlantic at the 2008 National Women's Under-18 Championships. The team finished in eighth place, but Saulnier was honoured with the Most Sportsmanlike Player award.

She played for Team Atlantic again at the 2009 National Women's Under-18 Championships and finished in sixth place. That year, Saulnier also played with the Stoney Creek Junior Sabres in Ontario and claimed a silver medal at the OWHA provincials. Two of her teammates on the Stoney Creek Junior Sabres, Laura Fortino and Jessica Wong, would play with her at the 2009 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships in Germany and win a silver medal.

She finished fourth in scoring with the Toronto Jr. Aeros of the Provincial Women's Hockey League in 2009–10. At the league championships, she won a silver medal with Toronto. In 2010, Saulnier won a gold medal with Toronto at the Ontario Women's Hockey Association provincial championship.

NCAA

In February 2011, she committed to join the women's hockey program at Cornell University. In her first three career NCAA games, she registered seven goals and ten points. In her college debut versus Colgate University on October 25, 2011, Saulnier netted four goals. Her four-goal night was the first for Cornell since Jessica Campbell scored four against Robert Morris in the second game of the 2010–11 season. She scored her first career goal when she was out on the Big Red's first power play of the game. In her next game versus the Yale Bulldogs, she registered one goal and two assists while scoring two goals in her third game versus the Brown Bears women's ice hockey squad. For the month of October 2011, she was tied for first in the ECAC in goals scored (while the other player appeared in eight games). In a game on November 1, 2011, the Cornell Big Red scored at least nine goals in one game for the third consecutive contest. It was senior captain Chelsea Karpenko's 100th career game, as Saulnier led all Big Red players with two goals and three assists in a 9–2 triumph over the Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey program.

Hockey Canada

In August 2008, Saulnier was a member of Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team, competing in a three-game series against the United States in Lake Placid. The following year, Saulnier was a member of Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team that competed in a three-game series against the United States in Calgary. Also, in 2009, she won a silver medal with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team at the 2009 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships. In a March 24, 2010, contest versus the OWHA All-Stars, Saulnier played for the Canadian National Under 18 Women's Team. Saulnier would register an assist in the contest as the OWHA All-Stars defeated the Under 18 team by a 3–2 tally. In April 2010 she won a gold medal with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team at the 2010 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championships in Chicago, beating Team USA in OT.

She played for Canada's National Women's Under-22 Team in a three-game series vs. the United States in Toronto in August 2010. Saulnier was an assistant captain at the 2010 IIHF Under 18 Women's World Championships. She finished fourth in tournament scoring with four goals and six assists in five games.

On January 11, 2022, Saulnier was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team. The team won the gold medal, defeating the United States in the final 3–2.

CWHL

Saulnier scored a goal as a member of Team Black in the 2nd Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game.

Appearing with the Calgary Inferno in the 2016 Clarkson Cup finals, Saulnier registered an assist as the Inferno emerged victorious in a convincing 8–3 final.

At the 3rd CWHL All-Star Game, Saulnier and Jess Jones both scored a hat trick, becoming the first competitors in CWHL All-Star Game history to achieve the feat.

On July 12, 2018, Saulnier and teammate Genevieve Lacasse were traded by the Inferno to the Canadiennes de Montreal in exchange for future considerations in the form of player(s) and/or draft pick(s).

PWHL

Saulnier was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 PWHL Draft by New York. She scored her first PWHL goal in the first official PWHL game, a 4–0 victory over Toronto on January 1, 2024. She finished the inaugural season with a goal and an assist in 18 games.

On January 21, 2025, early in the 2024–25 season, Saulnier was traded to the Boston Fleet in exchange for forward Taylor Girard. Both players were pointless in five games to start the year. She finished the season with two goals and three assists in 19 games for the Fleet. On June 18, 2025, she signed a one-year contract extension with the Fleet.

Personal life

Saulnier is a member of the LGBTQ community.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

Cornell

*2012 Recipient, Cornell Class of '14 Rookie of the Year Award
*Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saulnier, Jill
1992 births
Living people
Calgary Inferno players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian women's ice hockey forwards
Clarkson Cup champions
Cornell Big Red women's ice hockey players
Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics
Les Canadiennes de Montreal players
Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics
Olympic ice hockey players for Canada
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Olympic gold medalists for Canada
Olympic silver medalists for Canada
Ice hockey people from Halifax, Nova Scotia
New York Sirens players
Canadian lesbian sportswomen
LGBTQ ice hockey players
21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people
21st-century Canadian sportswomen
Professional Women's Hockey Players Association players
Toronto Jr. Aeros players
Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres players
Sportswomen from Nova Scotia