Savannah Harmon has skated around the world, including at the 2022 Olympic Games, where she helped Team USA win a silver medal as Harmon finished with seven points in seven games. She also has represented the U.S. at the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championships, where she’s won a gold medal and three silver medals.
Her international hockey journey started in Illinois, such as a 2005 Jaguars team, one of the first times she played on a girls’ team. “We were so little,” she said, reflecting on a team photo. “Some of the girls in the (team) photo, I’m still friends with.”
That team played in the Central Hockey League and won the President’s cup, she said.
“I’m so tiny,” she said, looking at the picture.
“I have nothing but good memories of playing hockey in Illinois, traveling, meeting longtime friends.”
Harmon, now 29, is a defenseman for Ottawa in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). She was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 PWHL Draft.
Harmon played college hockey at Clarkson University from 2014 to 2018 and won back-to-back national championships in 2017 and 2018.
Her hockey career started locally with the Sabres, then to the Blues and Huskies before moving to the Fury, Mission and Team Illinois.
“I remember playing on a boys’ team (in Illinois) and we won this Big Bear Tournament, though I don’t remember where it was (held). My time with the Chicago Fury and others (in Illinois), I am still friends with teammates from that time,” she said. “I remember all the times we went to Detroit, for instance, playing against Belle Tire and HoneyBaked. Those years really helped me compete, broaden my horizons to get on the radars of college teams.”
The left-handed shooting Harmon attended Downers Grove North for her first two years and played soccer for the school as a sophomore. She then attended a sports academy in Lake Placid, N.Y. for her final two years, graduating in 2014.
She still calls Downers Grove home and splits time in the off-season between suburban Chicago and Montreal as her fiancée is from Montreal.
“There’s nothing like coming home; it’s the best,” said Harmon, who often skates locally at the Arctic Ice Arena in Orland Park. “Having played in Illinois definitely helped me grow as a player. There are strong youth programs (in Illinois), and they helped me grow and develop.”
Harmon finished the inaugural 2024 PWHL season with 3 goals and 9 assists in 24 games played. She even set a personal record by spending 31 minutes and 59 seconds on the ice during a game against PWHL Toronto last March.
“I’m super excited for the (2024-25) season,” Harmon said. “With the success of the league in the first season, things are just getting started and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of it.
“The (cities with PWHL teams) are all great. In Ottawa, we’re really spoiled; we have an incredible market and an incredible fanbase. Every game is exciting; every team is exciting.
The product is amazing and will only continue to play.”
Harmon said the PWHL is “fast and physical” with very skilled players. Add in specialty rules that “brings a different dynamic to our game,” she said. For instance:
- The “jailbreak” rule, which ends a penalty if a team scores a short-handed goal.
- The “no escape rule,” which forces players on a penalized team to stay on the ice until the ensuing faceoff.
“I’m proud to represent Illinois. My family is still in Illinois and a place I still call home,” Harmon said. “There is an incredible group from Illinois within the league. We’re excited to represent Illinois, be a part of this league and continue to push women’s hockey.”
Others skating in the PWHL from the Land of Lincoln include Jesse Compher (Northbrook) and Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights), among others.
“Jesse and Kendall are two really good friends in the league; it’s always exciting when I get to play against them,” said Harmon, who noted that they often train together over the summer in Illinois.
Coyne Schofield, earlier this year, was the first player to lift The Walter Cup, which is the championship trophy for the PWHL.
“Watching Kendall hoist the cup, that gave me chills,” Harmon said. “I’ve looked up to Kendall since I was little. I’m grateful to call her a close friend. She has done so much work behind the scenes to get this league to where we are today. She’s a pioneer – for women’s hockey and female athletes. She’s a true role model and someone to whom I really look up. I’m very proud of her and she continues to do amazing things.”
Harmon added: “Kendall is the fiercest competitor. It’s awesome to be on the ice competing against her. She always gives 110 percent. She always makes you work. Her speed is hard to defend.”
Harmon said “it’s a lot of fun,” facing all the PWHL players from Illinois.
Harmon always talks to Compher pre-game.
Harmon’s drive in hockey was led by an Illinois icon: Cammi Granato, who was Harmon’s role-model and the player who she “aspired to be.”
“Cammi Granato inspired me to want to go to the Olympics,” said Harmon, who attended Granato’s hockey camp at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge.
Slapshots With … Savannah Harmon
Inspiring: “I hope (young girls) are working hard and having fun on the ice and can turn the TV on at night and see the league (action) – and dream to play in the league when they grow up.”
PWHL Action: “Montreal is a fun place to play. The fans there are really loud, even though they are booing us.”
Expanding The PWHL: St. Louis will host one of the nine neutral-site regular-season games in the PWHL Takeover Tour. The Ottawa Charge and Boston Fleet will face off on Saturday, March 29, starting at 1 p.m. CT at Enterprise Center. The Fleet features Shay Maloney, a right-handed shooting forward from McHenry, Illinois. Maloney played locally for Team Illinois, Upper Fox Valley and Team Illinois, among others.