Grace Zhan Makes China Proud, On and Off the Ice

First-year goaltender Grace Zhan came to Dartmouth from the Hill-Murray School in Minnesota, but her journey to Hanover started long before her time with the Pioneers.

Zhan, the only current Chinese born Division I women's hockey player and one of three in all of women's college hockey, began playing at the age of six. She has played only 90 minutes as a skater, ultimately deciding between the pipes was where she was meant to be.

Growing up in China, Zhan decided to play hockey as an escape from the hot summers. The coach who taught her how to skate was recruiting players and urged her to join the team, an opportunity that was supported by her parents.

"They always wanted me to grow up playing a sport, especially a team sport," Zhan said. "My dad lived in Canada for a few years after his college days so he's really familiar with hockey… I think that's also what really got me into the sport; my dad has a lot of passion for it."

For the next seven years, Zhan played hockey in community rinks on the boys' teams. When she was 13, the Princeton men's hockey coaching staff came to Beijing to host a camp. Despite the camp being for boys, Zhan put herself out there, signing up and making an impression on the Tigers' goalie coach.

"He came over to my parents and I after the camp and he said, 'We would commit her if she was a boy and if she was older," Zhan said. It was in that moment Zhan and her parents realized how real an opportunity she had to play elsewhere and be successful.

That same year, she got the opportunity to go to Minnesota with her team, where she was introduced to high school coaches. Zhan expressed her interest in moving abroad to continue her education and hockey career. After going back to the States that summer for a variety of camps, tournaments, practices and conversations with other players and parents, she decided to dedicate time to touring schools and finding her new home.

"I toured a bunch of schools and Hill-Murray just stood out to me a lot because it was a small school," Zhan said. "I heard a lot of great things…It was probably one of the best choices I made in my life to go to Hill-Murray."

Moving across the world from China to Minnesota was an adjustment for Zhan: culturally, academically, and at the rink. She was playing hockey at a higher level, learning critical thinking and problem solving rather than memorization, and overall, adjusting to a new way of life.

After five years in Minnesota, Zhan made her way to Hanover, choosing to be a member of the Big Green for the smaller campus and student population, academic intensity and sense of community.

"I think just having a place in the middle of 'nowhere', and you're focusing on athletics or just focusing on academics with no outside distractions is really important for me," Zhan added. "It really allows me to be the best version of myself here."

While she's come a long way from "a little six-year-old in a commercial rink learning to skate to a school ranked number eight in the whole country," still stays connected to her Chinese roots, representing her country and continuing to prove China is good at hockey, every day.

"The whole process is genuinely surreal… I'm fortunate enough to be able to be in a situation where I can balance both education and athletics at the same time," Zhan said.

Zhan battled an injury early in Dartmouth's season but was able to take the ice at Saint Anselm in January. She stopped 15 of the 16 shots she faced, keeping the Big Green on an undefeated streak to start the second half of the season.

"I'm really living the dream here, even though I got injured, even though I'm not playing as much," Zhan said. "Just being in this environment, [playing] in this division, I don't even know how to explain it. It feels like I'm dreaming, but I'm going to work hard and try to get the best out of it."

Most recently, Zhan represented China in the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, New York. Zhan was the second ranked goaltender through the tournament, posting a .939 save percentage and a 2.57 goals against average in four games.

Last year's team was made up of all Chinese born players, a feat Zhan described as 'mind blowing.' In the first game of the tournament, China defeated Japan in a shootout, a memory Zhan will never forget.

"Being two of the ten Asian countries out there, we're really showing them that Asian people can play hockey. We're good at hockey… We can actually compete," Zhan said. "When we won our first game there and they played the national anthem, I just heard all my teammates cry because none of them imagined winning a single game here…"

"Being out there on that stage, being the only person who's going to school in the U.S. and about to go to a Division I college, I think it's a turning point in how Chinese hockey changes in my generation," Zhan added.

Currently, Zhan is in Japan, playing with the Chinese National team to help them qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Representing her country is something Zhan describes as an honor and a dream.

"Being in the presence of all the stars that you see on Instagram, you see on TV, is absolutely amazing," Zhan said. "It's just crazy thinking about how an 18-year-old can be out there and competing with all the grown-ups is really cool."

Zhan is becoming a role model for future girls and understands they may face obstacles when deciding to pursue hockey or education, something she noticed in her former teammates. While she urges families that are capable to provide their children with the same opportunities she had, Zhan has a piece of advice for the girls that look up to her.

"There's so many girls with talent at home. And I've been telling them, learn your English, learn everything you can at school, it's really going to prepare you for a good future."

While she continues to represent her country and navigate the balance of education and hockey, she reflects on a takeaway from a coach at Hill-Murray.

"No matter what happens, keep your chin parallel to the ground. Never too high, never too low. I think that's a really good mindset, especially as a goalie," Zhan said. "When you get scored on, it's okay, you still have stuff afterwards to do. So, if you put your chin parallel to the ground and then make a really good save, don't get too cocky about it. There's still more shots coming your way. Bring that head down a little bit."

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