THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball team is loading up on the top local talent in the city.
Days after inking Hammarskjold’s Sara Clouthier to a commitment agreement, LU coach Hugo Boisvert on Friday ventured across town to St. Ignatius, where he got the silver medal-winning Falcons’ Kelsie Ellacott to agree to play for the team, starting next fall.
Ellacott, whose brother, Mackenzie Blackwood, is playing all-star calibre hockey with the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche, is excited at the opportunity to continue her basketball career close to home.
“It’s very exciting,” said Ellacott, who also happens to be the daughter of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre president and CEO Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott.
“I want to play basketball and I’ve met some of the girls and they’re really nice and I’m excited to see how the year unfolds.”
The adjustment from high school to the university game won’t be an easy one, Ellacott said, but it’s a challenge she’s looking forward to tackling, adding she’s already started putting in the work.
“I’m just going to put my best effort in all the time and just do my best for my team and everybody else,” the Grade 12 student said.
Ellacott said she’s definitely looked up to her big brother, a goaltender and former second-round pick of the New Jersey Devils, watching him progress through the junior and minor-league ranks on his way to the NHL.
“He was definitely part of the influence to try to keep athletic and further my basketball,” she said.
For Boisvert, adding a six-footer to the mix is never a bad thing.
The second-year coach said Ellacott is a great addition to the program, which is looking for a bounce-back year after going 5-17 in 2024-25.
“She’s definitely one of the best players in the city and the size is always good to have and especially in the position we’re at as a team. That’s a position we needed to get more depth at, so we feel we’ve added that with Kelsie,” Boisvert said.
Ellacott has the tools and the fundamentals, along with a good touch around the basket, Boisvert added, which is what attracted him to her skill set in the recruitment process.
“Obviously the size on both ends is a big factor. I honestly feels she hasn’t scratched the surface yet on what her potential is as a player,” Boisvert said.
“We’re excited to develop her.”
Boisvert said Ellacott and Clouthier checked a pair of big boxes for the team.
“I think both we feel will be very good USports players, so we couldn’t be happier with the way it went locally,” he said.
