Kalia Pharand was in no hurry to commit - but this is the Clarkson Golden Knights that we are talking about, after all.

Mere weeks after the window of opportunity opened for NCAA Division I women's hockey programs to officially recruit incoming talent, the local netminder who starred with the Sudbury U16 AAA Wolves boys team last winter signed on with the Potsdam (New York) institution.

Since the NCAA women's hockey championship was instituted in 2001, Clarkson has laid claim to the title on three occasions (2014, 2017, 2018), trailing Wisconsin (7), Minnesota (6) and Minnesota-Duluth (5) in this category.

That's 21 of the 23 banners accounted for between the Fab Four, with Ohio State jumping aboard in both (2022 and 2024).

Small wonder that Pharand would deviate from her initial plan in accepting this offer.

"Honestly, from what I had heard, the process was very slow," said the 16 year-old younger sister of Sudbury Wolves' forward Alex Pharand, with June 15th the magical date that opened the door to contact galore. "I was thinking that by Christmas I would be committed."

"Then it all happened so fast," Pharand continued. "A team I was talking to and seemed very interested called back two days later to say the spot was taken - and that was still very early on."

"How it worked for me was coaches would make offers to two or three goalies and whoever accepted it first, got it. I wasn't expecting to make a decision that fast."

That said, there were plenty of pros (and few if any cons, according to Pharand) as she completed the assessment of a Golden Knights program that has advanced to the Frozen Four Playoffs in each of the past three years, dropping a 4-1 decision to Ohio State in the semi-finals this past March.

"I didn't rush my decision, but I knew that I had to act quickly," said Pharand. "My mom asked me: how would you feel if you lost that spot (Clarkson)? That was kind of when I knew I really wanted to go there."

"When you know, you know."

Pharand has been told to expect to be fighting for a starting role as a freshman, most likely opposite juniors Julia Minotti (12 games in 2023-2024) and Alexa Madrid (4 games).

Entering grade 11 in the fall, Pharand will spend the 2024-2025 season with the Mississauga U22 Hurricanes, the first time in her career where she will need to adjust to the girls' game.

Now, however, she has two full years to continue her development, knowing where the landing spot will be come the fall of 2026 - even if it all happened much more quickly than expected.