By: Scott Bentley | Macomb Chronicle | Published October 1, 2025
MACOMB TOWNSHIP — L’Anse Creuse North 2016 graduate Taylor Girard saw her high school jersey hung in the school gym on Thursday, Sept. 18 during a sixth-hour assembly.
Girard currently plays for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which played its inaugural season in 2023-2024. She previously played for the Boston Fleet of the PWHL and was drafted first overall by the Connecticut Whale in the National Women’s Hockey League in 2021 where she won Newcomer of the Year. Girard played collegiately at Lindenwood University and Quinnipiac University.
“I was paying attention to her especially when she was in college, but once she got out of college and went to the NWHL. I started reaching out to her even then,” said Scott Boice, who runs the L’Anse Creuse North Athletics Hall of Fame. “Then when it went completely professional and she got drafted by Boston: Alright, we definitely need to do this.”
Despite L’Anse Creuse North not having a school sponsored girls hockey team, the school still found Girard more than deserving of the honor.
“We try to always make sure that if the kid is a student at our school and they excel at something that the MHSAA doesn’t offer, that we still want to honor them,” Boice said. “Even if it’s not with one of our programs, it’s a great honor just to have somebody play at that high of a level.”
Girard gave a speech to students and staff during the event. The school wanted to make sure that Girard had the platform to send a message to the student body that she was once a part of.
“I was real happy with how it went,” Boice said. “I thought her speech was excellent.”
In her speech, Girard talked about all of the trials and tribulations that she has gone through in her athletic career to get to where she is now. She was excited to show kids at her former school that they have a path to be a professional athlete, too.
“It was a really special moment for me where I got to share a piece of my journey,” Girard said. “Showcase can do it, too. Females can be professional athletes. That side of it was really special to me.”
After the assembly ended, several students approached Girard and told her how inspired they were by her message. There are now three jerseys on display in the L’Anse Creuse North gymnasium, and Girard is the first female of the group.
“Somtimes in high school you don’t always feel like you fit in, or you feel like what you’re doing is silly because no one else around you is doing it,” Girard said. “That’s kind of where I was in high school. No one around me was playing ice hockey. It was a boys sport. So I wanted to get that message across that you can do it, too.”
This story is also one of overcoming uncertainty. It is about an athlete who played a sport that wasn’t sponsored by the MHSAA, didn’t have one official professional league, and has seen a lot of turnover throughout the years. Despite all of that, Girard is now a professional hockey player.
“I wanted the kids in high school to know that even if you don’t have a path that’s built for you, if you just love what you do and put in all of your effort towards it, doors will open for you,” Girard said. “You have to find your ‘why’ and for me my ‘why’ is to inspire the youth to chase their dreams no matter what it is.”
The honor also has deep family ties. Girard is one person in a long list of her family that has attended L’Anse Creuse North over the years and seeing her last name forever displayed in the gym means a lot.
“My mom and dad graduated from LCN, and I’ve had aunts and uncles graduate there, and my brother graduated from there,” Girard said. “And it’s all of their hard work, too. I wouldn’t be where I am without all of their support and everything they’ve done for me throughout my career. It was special for the entire family to see a jersey with our last name go up.”
Girard’s jersey will join current NFL player Tyler Conklin (2013 graduate) and Stanley Cup champion Steve Olesky (2004 graduate) in L’Anse Creuse North’s gymnasium.