When there’s a loose puck in front of the goal and a crowd converges on it, it’s not a friendly place, Evanston girls hockey coach Dave Lucas-Kamm said.
Luckily for Lucas-Kamm, he’s had senior defenseman Jessica Salmi there to help keep order for three seasons.
Salmi’s approach in a crowded crease is both simple and aggressive.
“A lot of the time I’m just trying to get people out of the way,” she said. “It’s crazy in there but you have to (establish) your presence as much as possible. I might use an elbow and a girl might see that as an act of personal aggression, and want to get physical over it, and maybe throw her stick back at me. But that’s just hockey.
“I’ve always been aggressive. I used to play boys hockey and that was the only way to stay alive.”
Salmi, a Chicago resident who attends Northside College Prep, also is adept at communicating at keeping her team organized.
“Her ability to talk with her forwards and her defensive partner, and make sure everyone is on the same page, and picking up coverage — it not only makes her a great defenseman, it also makes her a leader on the team,” Lucas-Kamm said.
“She’s an assistant captain this year and has been a defensive player of the year for our team the past couple years.”
Salmi has come a long way since she was a crabby 5-year-old being dragged to the rink by her father, who introduced her to hockey.
“I hated it at first,” she said. “My dad used to joke that every time we got there I’d be crying, just because I wanted to sleep instead. But then he let me take a season off and I missed it so much. I realized pretty fast that I really did enjoy it.”
The physical nature of the game is what Salmi enjoys now.
“It’s the aggressive feeling I get, being able to push girls around a little out there and not getting into trouble for throwing a little shoulder into someone,” Salmi said.
“I think if you can make people a little scared of you out there, just by pushing them around a little once in a while, they’ll think about that if they’re coming down on a one-on-one against you.”
Salmi was a varsity defenseman as a sophomore, but didn’t step into a primary leadership role until her junior year. She had no qualms about being more vocal and directing on-ice traffic.
“We had a lot of young defensemen my junior year so it was time to show what I knew,” Salmi said. “And the girls knew that when I gave feedback, I was just trying to make them better defensemen.”
Salmi’s high school hockey career came to an end when fourth-seeded Fenwick defeated fifth-seeded Evanston 6-1 in the AHAI state tournament quarterfinals on Feb. 24 in Franklin Park.
“It was rough getting it out of our defensive zone because (Fenwick) had so many good forwards coming into our zone. They’re a good team,” Salmi said. “But we gave it our all. It’s sad that we lost, but it was nice playing one more game with these girls and giving it everything we had.”
Salmi doesn’t plan to play college hockey; however, she has no intention of leaving hockey behind.
“I’m still waiting to hear back from a couple of schools, but I plan on playing club hockey next year,” Salmi said. “So wherever I go, I’ll bring my hockey bag with me. When I leave for college, I’ll make sure it finds its way into the car.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
