From Little Cap to Tiger captain, Deland pursues passion on ice

Christmas Day is a triply-special day for the Deland household in Washington, D.C. Besides the obvious, Dec. 25 is also the birthday of both senior women's hockey forward and co-captain Melissa Deland and her twin sister Holly — a fitting celebration in the heart of the hockey season.

It's been that way for a couple of decades now, ever since Deland was born in Boston, where she lived with her parents, Holly, older brother Stan, and Tibetan spaniel Sandy for ten years. Deland grew up on the ice of that hockey-centric town before moving to Washington.

Though her parents feared their three children would lose touch with hockey in their new environment, the Delands found ice by the Potomac and Melissa kept playing.

Girls' teams were non-existent in the Washington area. Until her freshman year in high school she played on boys' club and traveling teams alongside Holly and future college teammate Lucy Firestone '01. During her sophomore year, she joined the Washington Little Capitals, a traveling team that helped put her on the map.

"The Capitals are what exposed me to a lot of different schools," Deland said. "Had it not been for that team, I don't think I would've been able to play college hockey."

One school that took notice of her talents was Princeton and women's hockey coach Jeff Kampersal '92.

"I'd seen her at a couple tournaments we recruit," Kampersal said. "She was a feisty kid. I got to talking to her over the phone, and I just liked her personality right away."

Deland didn't start to consider colleges until her junior year of high school, seriously looking at Princeton, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, and Brown before finally gravitating toward the Tigers.

"I narrowed it down to schools with good hockey teams and Princeton fit perfectly," she said.

She applied early to Princeton and elected to tackle two sports her freshman year, picking up a lacrosse stick in the spring once her hockey duties were finished. Both coach and player admit she's come a long way since then.

"She had some bad habits as a freshman," Kampersal said. "She's worked hard for four years. Now she's a very smart player. She's improved a lot in the little areas."

"I think discipline, awareness, and learning my position: I've improved a lot in those areas," Deland said. "I'm not a natural goal-scorer so I have to help my team out in other ways, too."

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Deland quit lacrosse this fall, opting to focus exclusively on hockey, a decision neither she nor coach Kampersal regrets.

"It was definitely a hard decision," said Deland, "but I think it was the right one."

"She's pure passion," Kampersal said. "She plays with a lot of heart, a lot of emotion. I think the team feeds off that."

The Tigers are coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs by only a few points. Disappointing as that may be, Deland found a silver lining.

"My top memory is beating Harvard at home [last year]," she said. "My dad and godfather went to Harvard. It's been a big rivalry. I hadn't beaten them in my three years. It was a great experience."

As the clock winds down on her college career, Deland, her head coach, and her teammates agree the last four years have been ideal.

"I don't know why I considered Dartmouth," Deland said. "I love the people at Princeton. I have a great relationship with Jeff. This is the top school in the country and a chance to play Division I hockey."

"She's a heart and soul player," Kampersal said. "She plays with a lot of emotion, a lot of guts. She's our emotional leader out there."

"She brings tremendous leadership to the team," senior defenseman and co-captain Aviva Grumet-Morris said. "She works exceptionally hard, and that work ethic is emulated by our younger players."

Harvard returns to Baker Rink on January 11. Perhaps this year Melissa Deland's Christmas/birthday present will come 17 days late.