Trump administration puts strain on Harvard's Canadian hockey pipeline

Ottawa Citizen

2 days ago

When Kristin Della Rovere first stepped onto Harvard University's campus as a fresh-faced teenager in 2016, it sparked a feeling she had never experienced with any other school.
Article content
She felt at home.
Article content
'When you get the opportunity to attend one of the best schools in the world, it's hard to say no,' she told the Postmedia. 'I went on my official visit and I just fell in love with the school, and I knew that was the only place I wanted to be.'
Article content
Article content
While the Caledon, Ont., product enrolled two years later as a pre-medical student, studying psychology and neuroscience, Della Rovere was there first and foremost to play for the Harvard Crimson women's hockey team — a program known for producing elite Canadian talent like Jennifer Botterill and Sarah Vaillancourt.
Article content
Article content
After several seasons in Ontario's top junior circuit, she worked her way up from freshman to captain of the program between 2021 and 2023.
Article content
Della Rovere found herself graduating just as the PWHL was being formed in the summer of 2023. That fall, she was drafted in the tenth round, 56th overall, by PWHL Ottawa.
Article content
She was one of six Harvard alumni to participate in PWHL training camps that fall — including goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, who joined Della Rovere in Ottawa, eight years removed from her last season wearing the crimson, white and black.
Article content
Article content
'(Harvard) was a backbone for me,' Della Rovere said. 'I don't know if I would have made it there without my experience at the university.
Article content
Article content
'If I had to go back and choose a different school, I would have chosen the same one.'
Article content
But that once-simple decision is one that current and prospective students are now learning can't be taken for granted.
Article content
On May 22, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard's ability to enroll international students, who account for more than a quarter of the institution's total enrollment.
Article content
The developments mark the latest escalation in an ongoing conflict spurred by the administration's claims that Harvard failed to adequately protect Jewish students from antisemitism.
Article content
While a U.S. judge issued a restraining order that blocked the Department of Homeland Security's edict regarding international students at Harvard, the school's athletes are in a precarious position.