Nine up-and-coming recruits have made known their intent to play for the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team and pursue an education at the University of Toronto in the fall of 2010.

A native of Aurora, Ont., Nicole Kesteris will add depth to U of T’s goaltending in 2010-11. The Bishop Strachan School student has won the coaches’ unsung hero award in four of the past five seasons and was named the team’s most valuable player in 2008. As a member of the Aurora Panthers in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), Kesteris led her squad to 10 of their 15 wins this season and held a .909 save percentage.

“Nicole challenges the shooter effectively, moves well in the net and has a great glove,” said Varsity Blues head coach Karen Hughes. “She will certainly challenge for playing time and I look forward to the depth she will bring to our goaltending.”

Marie-Claire Geneau joins the Blues from Victoria, B.C., where she has been named the athlete of the year at St. Andrew’s regional high school for the past two years. A 5-foot-4 defenceman, Geneau represented British Columbia at the 2009 under-18 national women’s hockey championship and was named the most valuable player in their game versus Team Manitoba.

“Marie-Claire is an excellent skater,” commented Hughes. “She can make good quick passes and I was impressed by her ability to control the breakout on the power play. She also has a decent low shot from the point and good puck control.” 

A transfer student from the University of Maine, Robyn Law will study at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) starting in September. An established NCAA forward, Law won a gold medal with Team Ontario at the 2005 under-18 national challenge and was crowned a College Hockey America (CHA) champion as a member of the Mercyhurst Lakers women’s hockey team in 2006.

The Markham, Ont. native comes from a strong family of hockey players as her brother, Taylor, is a freshman at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York and her older sister, Kelly, was the former captain at the University of Maine.

“Robyn is a proven performer at the NCAA division 1 level,” said Hughes. “We are excited for the leadership and skill she will bring to the team and I expect her to be an impact player on every shift.” 

Forwards Amanda Ricker, Danielle Minatel and Kelsi McGonigal have also committed to playing for U of T in 2010-11.

Ricker of Kanata, Ont., led the Neapean Wildcats Intermediate AA team with 15 goals this season, while Minatel (Woodbridge, Ont.) was the team captain and most valuable player on the Vaughan Flames midget AA squad. Both have been accepted into U of T’s Concurrent Teacher Education Program (CTEP) starting this fall. 

McGonigal has had a very successful minor hockey career in her hometown of Winnipeg. She was the leading scorer with the Luxton Falcons in 2007-08, before moving to the Bordair Wings in 2008-09 where she was the team’s captain, leading scorer and most valuable player. She capped off her midget AA career with a city championship banner as a member of the Winnipeg Titans. 

U of T will also look to strengthen their blue line with incoming defencemen Anastasia Bosc of Winnipeg, Julia Craparotta (Bolton, Ont.) and Cornwall, Ont., native Chelsea Seguin. 

Students who sign a letter of intent and commit to Varsity Blues intercollegiate teams will be eligible to play at the University of Toronto provided they are academically admissible and have applied through the normal process with the Ontario Universities Application Centre. 

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