At five years old, UVM women’s hockey forward Ève-Audrey Picard decided that ice hockey would become her sport.

The sophomore started learning to play after inspiration from watching her brother’s games. Since joining the UVM women’s hockey program, she’s set herself apart from the rest.

“She has a drive that I don’t know that I’ve ever seen in my 18 years of coaching,” head coach Jim Plumer said.

This competitive nature has been evident since her first year in the UVM women’s hockey program.

During winter break, Picard was still on the ice playing for Canada’s National Women’s Development Team at the 2018 Nations Cup in Germany, according to UVM athletics.

Currently, Picard is on track to play in the Beijing 2022 Olympics, she said.

According to UVM athletics, Picard had 16 goals and 31 points during the 2016-2017 season, the most a rookie has had in the program’s history.

This season, she leads the team with 14 goals, and is tied for second in assists with 11.

“She’s naturally a goal scorer.” sophomore forward Allie Granato said. “Somehow, someway, she’ll find a way to put the puck in the back of the net.”

During the Northeastern games on Jan. 26–27, Picard showed her scoring abilities.

That weekend, she scored five goals and had one assist, according to UVM athletics.

“It was pretty special,” Picard said. “I had a rough beginning of the season, and being able to come back and help the team win against a really good team and make us go to the playoffs is really great.”

Plumer said she had a bumpy start to the season, but knows that she’s very skilled.

“She went through a scoring slump this year from October to mid-January,” Plumer said. “At that point, she was really frustrated and pressing and trying hard.

“She’s really capable of doing a lot.”

Her strong work ethic is clear during both practices and games.

“She battles very, very hard,” Granato said. “Whenever [we] are having a one-on-one battle in practice, she’s going to come at you 100 percent every time.”

Even after college and the Olympics, Picard still would like ice hockey to be a part of her future.

“I feel that if I have the chance to play or coach later, that would be a great opportunity to help grow the game,” Picard said.

Picard and her team will travel to Northeastern University Feb. 16.

A week later, they will start competing on the Hockey East tournament. They will face one of Boston College, University of Maine, and Providence College.