Evelyn Doyle is used to the big stage.
In the 2021 2A Girls Tier II 14-U National Championship in Littleton, Colo., with the score 2-2 through overtime, Assabet Valley Girls Hockey coach Kelly McManus Souza tapped Doyle to take the first shootout attempt against the Mid-Fairfield CT Stars.
The forward cruised straight in on net, drawing the Mid-Fairfield goalie out of the crease. At the last moment, Doyle quickly brought the puck across to her backhand and stretched forward, balancing on her left leg, to knock it around the goalie’s pad and in.
“I just remember trying not to overthink it and just being like, ‘I’ve done this before in practice,’ ” Doyle, now 17, said. “I think it gave me a lot of good experience in being under pressure and just kind of like taking deep breaths and not overthinking it. Just kind of relying on the preparation that I had.”
Doyle’s goal ultimately served as the winner. After falling to Mid-Fairfield in a shootout during the preliminary rounds, Assabet Valley redeemed itself to win the national title. For McManus Souza, the decision to give Doyle a chance to position her team to win was a no-brainer.
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“I sent Evelyn first because we knew she was going to do it,” said McManus Souza, who has been coaching Doyle since her U-8 days. “It's obviously an overwhelming position for some kids to be in, but Evelyn just had that poise, and obviously the hands, to go along with it.”
Three years later, the stage continues to get bigger, and with it the pressure.
The Needham, Mass., native played for the United States in the 2024 U-18 Series against Canada in St. Catherines, Ont., from Aug. 14-17. Doyle made her presence known immediately, scoring the USA’s first goal in a 4-2 loss in Game 1.
The U.S. lost, 3-1, in Game 2, but came back to win Game 3 in a shootout, 4-3, after trailing 2-0 in the first period. While the U.S. failed to secure overall bragging rights over its neighbors up north, the experience will serve Doyle tremendously.
On top of gaining valuable experience competing with some of the best North American players in her age group, Doyle picked up new approaches to forechecking on the penalty kill and finding “soft areas” in the offensive zone, which she plans to utilize at Assabet Valley as well as Dexter Southfield, where she is beginning 11th grade.
Since joining the varsity team at Dexter as an eighth-grader, Doyle has improved her production each season. A key moment in her development occurred ahead of her sophomore season about a year ago.
As Doyle walked through the Dexter Southfield halls on a school day early in the season, she passed girls hockey coach Maggie Taverna. Taverna stopped her, taking a moment to share her thoughts about Doyle’s game.
This is a common occurrence, according to Doyle, who appreciates the fact her coach is constantly thinking of things she can work on. This time, Taverna had ideas about how Doyle could take a step forward offensively.
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“She talked to me about kind of just getting shots to the net and not trying to take the puck into the net too far myself,” Doyle said. “Just kind of get the puck on net and then drive the net, and if I know my teammate’s going to net, just kind of put the puck there, because things happen.”
Doyle took that advice to heart. After scoring seven goals the year prior, Doyle doubled up to 14 goals and added 12 assists in 27 games to lead the team in scoring. However, offense was not the only area in which Doyle excelled, as Taverna relied on her in every situation.
“She's the smartest defensive center I've ever coached,” Taverna said. “In my eyes, yeah, she's the leading scorer on the team, but she plays all the facets of the game. All the special teams, she's on it.
“If we're up a goal and we have to keep them out of the net, Evelyn's on that ice. Defensive zone — even if she's at the end of a shift — she’s a great faceoff winner, so I'll keep her out (on the ice). She'll win that faceoff, and then come off the ice. So her intuition, and her 200 feet of playing … she plays every zone extremely well, and being a center, you're supporting the puck all over the ice, and you're supporting the play all over the ice. And she does that remarkably.”
Doyle’s two-way dominance — which she models after Boston Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron — helped push Dexter Southfield through the NEPSAC Large School tournament bracket last season, culminating in the championship game against Buckingham Browne & Nichols on March 3. At the end of a hard-fought game, BB&N walked away with a 1-0 victory to claim the title.
As much as falling short of the Large School championship disappointed Doyle, it’s fueling her entering this season.
“We’re all really, really excited to get back on the ice, because we all know that we have something left to give,” Doyle said. “We all just kind of remember that, and it really is a big motivator for us as we get back on the ice this season.”
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Whether or not Dexter Southfield reaches the mountaintop this season, Doyle will continue to climb in her own career. While Doyle credits her family, coaches and teammates for her success thus far, coaches attribute it to a kid who despite being quiet off the ice, is loud on it, to a natural leader who has worked hard for what she’s earned.
Doyle recently committed to play college hockey at Yale, where both McManus Souza and Taverna are confident she will thrive.
“She's a kid that really puts in the work and is determined to be the best that she can be,” McManus Souza said. “And she's a kid that's going to continue to develop.”
Said Taverna: “The sky's the limit for the kid. If she wants it, she could achieve it.”
