After four years at Cornell University, Avi Adam is gearing up for a shot at the pros this fall with the Montréal Victoire.
Ask Cornell coach Doug Derraugh what kind of player is on her way to La Belle Province, and he delivers a heavy comparable.
“She is kind of like a Guy Lafleur,” said Derraugh. “Flies down the wing and has the big shot. Got the blonde hair, too. … And every once in a while, you’re going to see something where you’re like, whoa, that was special.”
Adam was selected 24th overall by the Victoire in this summer’s PWHL Draft. Through her time at Cornell she developed her offence, leading the team in points through her final two seasons. Now, Derraugh says the 5-foot-9 winger is an impact player that will impress in Montréal.
“She’s real explosive, real dynamic, has really good size,” he said. “She does have that wow factor where she’ll take off, she’s got a big shot, and she can score goals. I guess if you were to sort of stereotype a prototypical NHL-type winger in all. She’s a big, strong winger, that is explosive and has got a hard shot. Plays with grit too. She can be gritty, tough, and a little bit nasty at times. So I think she’s going to really fit in well in the PWHL game.”
As Montréal rebuilds its offensive group post-expansion, Adam will look to show that fire and firepower in training camp to earn a spot with the team this season.
Big game player
In Montréal, Avi Adam faces an opportunity and a challenge. As defending Walter Cup champions, the Victoire enter the season with a deep forward group and big expectations to succeed. Still, given numerous losses to expansion, there’s space for new players to come in and make a name for themselves. It’s a tall order, but Adam is no stranger to stepping up to the moment.
“I feel like the bigger the game, the better she plays,” said Derraugh. “She does rise to the occasion. … She’s at her best when she just plays the game, when she doesn’t overthink things. And I think she likes the challenge of the bigger games, the challenge of championship games. She wants to be on the ice for big moments and wants the puck in big moments.”
Beyond being a high compete player on the ice, Derraugh also touts the Wolfville, Nova Scotia’s character off the ice.
“She’s gritty, tense, competitive, all of those things on the ice, but then off the ice, you wouldn’t know that she’s that way on the ice,” Derraugh said. “She’s got that East Coast friendliness, that East Coast laid back, calm sort of personality. But when it comes time to play the game, you don’t want to cross her on the ice.”
That East Coast connection is sure to play well with Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie, a native of Nova Scotia herself.
Flying down the wing
At Cornell, Adam gained a reputation as a clutch goalscorer, known for finding the back of the net at crucial moments. This past season, that included scoring quickly in an ECAC semifinal match against Yale. It’s one Derraugh remembers well.
“We just went to the ECAC Final Four, and I think she scored in the first or second shift, about 45 seconds into the game,” said Derraugh. “That goal kind of is reminiscent of a lot of her goals.”
Looking back at his best memories watching Adam play, it’s not hard to see where the Lafleur comparison comes from for Derraugh.
“There’s a lot of goals that stick out in my mind of her just sort of coming down that right wing,” said Derraugh. “I guess that’s the Guy Lafleur analogy. I remember a lot of goals of Guy Lafleur skating hard down the wing and letting that slapshot go. With her, it’s not so much a slapshot, but she’s got a hard wrister. She’s scored a lot of goals coming down the right wing, and there’s a real nice one against Clarkson that I remember. Real nice one against Colgate. The one against Yale last year in the playoffs. Yeah, there’s certainly a number of playoff games that I think back to where she scored some big goals, just coming down the wing and letting that the big shot go.”
Derraugh acknowledges that he “doesn’t want to put pressure on her” with the Lafleur comparison, but as a fan of old-school Montréal hockey, he can’t help but see the similarities. Of course, he notes one key difference between Adam and Lafleur.
“Hopefully she won’t play with no helmet like Guy did and really have the hair flying,” Derraugh joked.
