Buffalonians had their first opportunity to witness Savannah Harmon';s skill
set at the Buffalo Beauts Free Agent Camp in early-June. Though if you have
followed women';s hockey closely, you would have already known that the
5-foot-3 blueliner was one of the most steadfast players coming out of NCAA
hockey. So much so that the Beauts made sure she was a high selection when they
 chose her at number six in the 2017 NWHL Draft. It';s not just that Harmon
produces a sizable amount of offense from the back end, which she does. What
maybe more so separates her from the rest of the pack are her sound decision
making and the type of character she exhibits both on and off the ice.

When THW asked her at the camp what ingredients she could help supply the
Beauts with, Harmon responded with the following:

"I think there's a lot I can bring. I learned a lot over my four years just
about leadership, and grew as a person in those roles the past two years, so I
think that a lot. It will be a new team and new dynamics. They've been
successful. They've been to the Cup championship the past three years. So
there's a lot. A different dynamic definitely, but I think I can bring a voice
and a second, new opinion. A different style of play than what they've been
used to in the past."

Two-time National Champion and Beauts draft pick, Savannah Harmon, meets the
Buffalo media. pic.twitter.com/f1CA4yYz73

- Buffalo Beauts (@BuffaloBeauts) June 9, 2018

Just days after the camp had come to a close, the official word came out that
Harmon had signed her first professional NWHL contract. She became a
full-fledged Buffalo Beaut. Now that some time has gone by and with the 2018-19
 season just starting to come into our field of vision, THW caught up with
Harmon for a one-on-one conversation. We wanted to get to know her better, and
in turn, give both Beauts and NWHL fans some further insight into what this
exciting youngster is all about.

Make no mistake, you';re doing to like her a great deal and will find that
there is much she will bring to her team and the league.A Native of Downer';s
Grove, Illinois

Harmon is originally from Downer';s Grove, which is a suburb of Chicago,
Illinois. Like most players who have continued the game through college and
onto the professional level, she began the game at a very young age. In
Harmon';s instance, she took after an older brother whom she adored and
admired, never once looking back.

"I think I was probably about three or four," she recalled when asked about
when she started hockey. "I have an older brother who has been one of my best
friends since the day I was born, and he played hockey. Growing up I always
wanted to do every single thing he did. He started playing, and then as soon as
 I was able to walk and talk, I wanted to do what he did. So that meant playing
 hockey too," she laughed.

The Chicago area is a tremendous sports market, and long has been. Though to
play at an elite level for girls and eventually women';s hockey, Harmon found
that her particular path brought her to New York and a legendary locale in the
history of the game.Savannah Harmon comes to Buffalo as a two-time NCAA
Champion with the Clarkson Golden Knights (Photo Credit: Clarkson University
Athletics).

"I think that now it is definitely growing way more," she said about
opportunities for her to play in her hometown. "When I was younger I played on
a boys team. I played one year of checking hockey, and then I moved over to the
 girls. Then once I was there we had four competitive triple-A teams. I played
there for the end of grade school and then my first year of high school. I
ended up moving out east to play in Lake Placid at the National Sports Academy.
 A different path for sure, but I loved it - it was great!"

During her first year playing at the Sports Academy, 2012-13, Harmon finished
third in scoring among all Junior Women';s Hockey League (JWHL) defenders. In
30 games she scored 11 goals and added 32 assists for 43 points. The only two
defenders to score more points than her that season - Toni Ann Miano and Jenny
Ryan - have also made it to the NWHL.NCAA Success at Clarkson University

As Harmon was wrapping up her high school career, she began to explore
different colleges and universities that might be a fit for her. Though she was
 initially open to a variety of schools, once she found hers she knew it from
the start. Finding her way to Clarkson University would lead to her becoming a
two-time NCAA champion, though it was the family aspect of the school that drew
 her there to begin with.

Harmon explained:

"When I was getting recruited and ended up going on a few college trips, I
didn';t know what I wanted to study. I was pretty open with whether I wanted a
big school or a small school. I was just kind of taking everything in. When I
got to Clarkson, right away it was pretty much a big family atmosphere. When I
was being recruited by them, a husband and wife (Matt and Shannon Desrosiers)
had coached and they had two young kids. The strength and conditioning trainer
that was there had a young kid running around too. You could just tell from the
 second you got on campus it was a family atmosphere. It was a small community,
 small town. At the time I was living in Lake Placid which was only an hour and
 a half from there. I loved Lake Placid, and when I looked everywhere else I
knew that Clarkson was the place for me. From the coaches, and the hockey that
was obviously amazing, to the academic side which had a lot of options for
whatever I would want to end up going into. That just made it a good fit for
me."Savannah Harmon in the the thick of the action during the 2018 National
Championship game at the Women';s Division I Ice Hockey Frozen Four at Ridder
Arena in Minneapolis, MN (Photo Credit: Clarkson University Athletics).

Harmon played for the Golden Knights from the 2014-15 season through 2017-18.
In her four years she scored 30 goals, 83 assists, and 113 points in 160 games.
 Once she hit the 100-point plateau, she was only the second defender in the
program';s history to accomplish the feat. 10 of her goals were power play
tallies, while eight of them ended up being game-winners. Harmon';s career
plus/minus  of plus-131 is simply staggering.

For her junior year at Clarkson she served as a co-captain, and then held the
captaincy outright for her senior campaign. While Harmon is very humble and
would quickly spread the credit elsewhere, it is no coincidence that the Golden
 Knights became national champions for both years in which she held such a
leadership role. Her collegiate career brought her numerous memories that she
cherishes, though those two championships stick out as the definition of
"special moments".

The defending NCAA champion @CUknights will look to Patty Kazmaier candidate
Savannah Harmon to bring them back to the promised land!
pic.twitter.com/Zs6JW7nsMd

- NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) September 25, 2017

"When we won the NCAA championship," Harmon said when asked for pinnacle
memories from Clarkson. "I think both years were pretty special for it. The
first year when we won - my junior year - that was absolutely amazing. Then to
win it again my senior year, we won it back to back. I think those two take the
 top of the special moments. I think that just everyday being able to come to
the rink and play. The group of girls that I had on my team every single year
have just been all amazing and great friends. I think that';s been a special
part of it too."The Beauts Made Her an Early Draft Choice

Being able to pluck a player from the national spotlight who was fresh off of
two straight championships, the Beauts wasted little time in drafting Harmon.
Buffalo';s defense has been formidable through each of the previous three years
 of the NWHL, and with this rookie defender in their armament they appear
poised to continue that tradition in Season Four. The summer that the Beauts
drafted her, they were coming off of their finest performance yet.

"They had just won the year before," Harmon recalled, "so I was super pumped to
 be able to get drafted by them. I was really excited, and I knew that the
league had still only been up for three years. It was exciting. When you';re
younger, I had always wanted to continue playing hockey as long as I could. To
know that was something that was definitely doable and coming in the near
future, I was really excited. To be able to be drafted from Buffalo, I was
super honored, super excited, and definitely interested in getting a chance to
play for them."

Rivals 🔜 teammates pic.twitter.com/g0iGVNyWts

- Buffalo Beauts (@BuffaloBeauts) June 14, 2018

Harmon is in very good company too. At the time that her signing was announced
the Beauts had inked only one other defender, veteran and Olympian Lisa
Chesson. A tremendous puck-mover herself, Chesson is the elder stateswoman of
the team. Soon to be turning 32 years old, she was a member of Buffalo';s 2017
Isobel Cup-winning squad and earned a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
 Both Harmon and Chesson are from Illinois, and could conceivably be an elite
defense pairing. The fresh-faced, skillful rookie alongside the savvy,
stymieing veteran. It is certainly food for thought.

Veterans and fellow rookies alike, Harmon however is excited to be playing
alongside all of her new teammates:

"I think all of them to be honest," she said, when asked who she was most
looking forward to playing with. "From the training camp when I was there, the
girls who were back - Jordan (Juron), Maddie (Elia), Hayley (Scamurra) - all of
 them that were back, they were definitely super nice right from the start.
Really outgoing, fun to be around and fun to play with. That was awesome. Then
the other girls like Juls (Iafallo) who played at Ohio State and Annika
(Zalewski) who played at Colgate, whom I kind of had known and played against
for the past four years, I';m super excited to be on their team this year too.
We got along really well. It was fun to be able to go through the camp and get
to know them that weekend. I';m really excited for everyone."Harmon Feels
Welcomed in Buffalo

You can also tell that Harmon is looking forward to being part of the Buffalo
community. Having traveled to "The Queen City" from Chicago with her mother to
attend the free agent camp, she brought it up to the media then. More than a
month later, she is still smiling from her welcoming visit.

"That';s one thing I';ve heard too," she responded when THW referred to Buffalo
 as "The City of Good Neighbors". She went on to say, "It';s a big city, but
has a small town vibe. My mom and I were there for camp, and definitely the one
 thing we noticed from everywhere we went, whether it was going out to eat or
just walking around, it was a great sense of community and neighbors. It was
awesome, and I';m really excited to be there."

The next time that Harmon steps foot in Buffalo she will do so as a
professional hockey player. With that new status as an NWHLer, there will be
many youngsters who will be looking on in both wonder and admiration. While
being a pro will be new for Harmon, interacting with kids and serving as the
positive role model that she is not unfamiliar territory. In fact, the notion
is already quite dear to her.Seen here carrying the puck up ice in the 2018
National Championship game between Clarkson and Colgate, Savannah Harmon
captained the Golden Knights during her senior year (Photo Credit: Clarkson
University Athletics).

"To look up and be able to see little girls at our games that';s one thing I
really got to experience at Clarkson," she recalled fondly. "That was the
coolest thing. We had the 'Little Knights'; club here, and got to know a bunch
of the younger kids that would come to the games all the time. I think that is
just so cool. I know in Buffalo from what I';ve seen that their support and fan
 base are absolutely amazing."

Youngsters and adults alike will enjoy getting to know Harmon this coming NWHL
season. Not only for her pleasant nature and enthusiasm, but also because she
is going to make a difference among the Beauts defense corps. By selecting her
sixth overall, believe us when we tell you that Buffalo got a steal.

"One thing that I just always like to preach is to have fun," Harmon ended
with. "I think that';s when you play your best and have the most fun. When
you';re working hard, you';re having fun. And usually when you';re having fun,
you';re working hard. It';s a sport, it';s a game, and it';s supposed to be
fun. If you work hard everything else will come with it."

The post One-On-One With Beauts Rookie Savannah Harmon appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.

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