“It’s an incredible honor, I’ve looked up to some really unbelievable leaders on this team and I’ve been able to learn from some of the greats. I’m excited. I try to lead by example on the ice, work by butt off all the time. You know there’s little things to deal with, 25 women on the same team, this team is great, easy to lead, there’s never a problem,” Duggan said.
Duggan stand 5 feet ten inches tall, she won silver at the 2010 winter Olympics and is now more determined than ever to bring home the gold.
“Last time we came up a little short for a gold medal and we don’t want that to pass us by this time,” the forward said.
Now 26 years old, Meghan started skating when she was just a little girl.
“I started skating at 3-years-old and I’ve loved it since. I played at Cushing Academy, I went there to try to pursue a hockey career, then on to college and on to a national team,” she said.
She said her family means everything to her.
“From when I was a kid driving me to the 6 a.m. wake ups for practice in East Boston somewhere to financial support, putting me in the best schools, and having my back when things are hard, and celebrate with them when things are great,” Duggan said.
Meghan said she is not taking this trip to Sochi for granted.
“You take a second to think about representing your country, your small town and your team but also something so much greater than yourself, being a part of Team U.S.A.,” she said.
Duggan joins a team loaded with plenty of bay state talent. She’s one of five Massachusetts women on the squad.
Meghan Duggan
Meghan Duggan, the captain of the U.S. women’s national team since November, 2013, is a 26-year-old forward who won a silver medal in her Olympic debut at the 2010 Olympics. She’s also won four gold medals with the U.S. at the IIHF World Championships, and playing at the University of Wisconsin, she won the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award, which is the award presented annually to the top female collegiate hockey player in the U.S.
Career highlights:
- IIHF World Championships: Won gold medal in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013.
- NCAA Division I national championships: Won three times in four seasons at the University of Wisconsin, in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
- College Hockey: In 2010-11, she led NCAA Division I women’s hockey in scoring with 87 points (39 goals, 48 assists) in 41 games
- Four Nations Cups: Participated seven times with the U.S., finishing first in 2008, 2011 and 2012. She was the team’s captain in 2011.
- Professional Hockey: In 2012-13, she won the championship of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League–the Clarkson Cup–playing for the Boston Blades.
Three things to know:
1. Her coach in college at Wisconsin was Mark Johnson, the leading scorer on the 1980 U.S. men’s national team that went on to win gold medals at the Lake Placid Olympics.
2. Threw out the first pitch of a Boston Red Sox, Patriots Day game at Fenway Park, on April 19, 2010.
3. Grew up in the town of Danvers, MA, which was incorporated with the “Danvers” name in 1757 as an attempt to distance itself from the legacy of the Salem Witch Trials, which took place in what’s present-day Danvers–formerly known as Salem village–in 1692 and 1693.