The NHLCA Female Coaches Program is an initiative that aims to support women in several areas including skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking, and career advancement opportunities.
Meet the coaches in the NHLCA Female Coaches Program.
Emily Ach
Assistant Coach | St. Cloud State University
Emily Ach enters her second season as an assistant coach for St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey in 2025-26.
Ach returned to SCSU in 2024-25 after spending the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst (Pa.). Prior to Mercyhurst, she spent two seasons as the SCSU Women’s Hockey Operations and Video Coordinator Graduate Assistant after an extremely successful playing career at Augsburg University. As a player, Ach earned All-MIAC honors her senior season and spent two years with PWHPA Minnesota post-graduation.
A native of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Ach graduated from Park Center High School in 2016 where she participated in hockey, softball and cross-country. Ach earned her Master’s Degree from St. Cloud State in Sports Management and her Bachelor’s Degree from Augsburg in Elementary and Mathematics Education.
Kimberly Abrahams
Assistant Coach | Eden Prairie High School
Abrahams is passionate about hockey, believes coaching is her calling, and lives hockey daily. She even lived her bucket list dream trip to see one home game at every NHL arena during the 2011-2012 season; the details of which can be found in her coauthored book, The Hockey Tour.
Barbara Aidelbaum
Skating Development Coach | Barb Aidelbaum Skating Schools Inc
Barb Aidelbaum is a coach, mentor, wife, and mother, and a globally recognized expert in hockey skating with over 40 years of professional coaching experience across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Her career began in figure skating after achieving Skate Canada triple gold status, but she discovered her true passion in hockey skating, thriving in the team environment and collaborative setting. Known for her comprehensive gap analysis in athlete development, she specializes in teaching foundational skating skills that progress into the complex movement patterns required for elite performance.
Over her distinguished career, Aidelbaum has coached numerous CHL, NCAA, NHL players and teams and NHL Officials. Many current athletes include first-round draft picks, Stanley Cup champions, and Olympians. She remains dedicated to lifelong learning and innovation, graduating in 2025 with a Master’s in High Performance Coaching and Technical Leadership from the University of British Columbia. She also holds the Chartered Professional Coach designation – the highest recognition from the Coaching Association of Canada.
In 2000, she co-founded HEROS Hockey (Hockey Education Reaching Out Society), a national charitable organization that empowers marginalized youth through hockey. She served as both a Board Member and volunteer until the 25th anniversary. She was also honoured with a nomination for the YWCA Metro Vancouver Women of Distinction Community Champion award.
Through her evidence-based approach, dedication, and leadership, Barb has shaped the development of high-performance players and officials while building a legacy within the global hockey community.
Barb is based out of Vancouver, BC.
Cathy Andrade
Skating Consultant | San Jose Sharks
Cathy is a professional skating development coach and the skating consultant for the San Jose Sharks. She has been a skating coach for 40 years (exclusively hockey skating for 25 years). She started her pro coaching career in Calgary, Canada (1984) after achieving (CFSA/Skate Canada) Triple Gold Figure Skating & NCCP coaching certifications.
Cathy established Power Hour (1998), the Bay Area’s first formal hockey power skating program and she opened Extra Hour Hockey Training (2018), California’s largest synthetic ice skill development facility which houses Northern California’s only skating treadmill. She added a second hockey training facility in 2023 inside the San Jose Sharks Fremont rink.
*Member & presenter for both the NHL Coaches’ Association and The Coaches Site.
Kalley Armstrong
Coaching & Management Development Associate | Toronto Maple Leafs
Kalley currently works for the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Coaching/Management Development Associate. Mentored directly by Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies front office and coaching staff, Kalley has gained valuable professional experience in this role.
Kalley has been coaching since 2016 in many capacities including Assistant Coach for Western University Women’s Hockey Team (USport), Head Coach U18 Tier 1 (OWHA), Coach Indigenous Team Ontario (National Aboriginal Hockey Championships), and guest Coach at the Detroit Red Wings Development Camp. She is the proud Owner of Armstrong Hockey which runs hockey development camps for First Nations youth and communities across Ontario.
Kalley was a team captain at Harvard capturing the Beanpot and ECAC Tournament Championships and competed in the National Championship in 2015. While at Harvard she earned All-Ivy Second team and ECAC Best Defensive Forward accolades.
Rebecca Babiak
Head Coach | Mount Academy U18 Boys
Originally from Winnipeg, MB, Rebecca is entering her fourth season at Mount Academy (CSSHL East) where she is embarking on her first full season as the U18 boys Head Coach. She has already made significant strides in her coaching career which started back in 2017. A former NCAA Division 1 hockey player at Union College, she has broken new ground by becoming the first female coach at both the Atlantic QMJHL Challenge for Team PEI U16 in October 2023 and the QMJHL Challenge this past April. Additionally, she serves as a guest coach for the Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL) and the UPEI Mens team (USport).
Debbie Beaudoin
Head Coach U18 A1 | Abbotsford Female Hockey Association
Debbie Beaudoin is the Owner/Director of Program Development and Associate Director for Player Development at Beaudies House of Hockey, Ringette and Skating. In 2023, Debbie and associate board members founded a non-for-profit organization called Warriors Ice Sports Training Society. Debbie is the current President of WISTS. As the President, Coach Debbie creates, and implements community programming for the Fraser Valley in skating, hockey and ringette.
Coach Debbie is spirited and committed to inspiring personal drive and self-confidence through motivational training and skills development. She is skilled in evaluating, scouting, and developing new players/coaches each season to enhance individual/team skills and strengths. She employs an example-based instruction style to build trust as hands-on leader and guarantee safety of all on and off ice activities. Coach Debbie believes in open, constructive communication between her staff/team to set clear goals and build a vision of excellence. She is committed to development and as a Coach/Manager and is adept in strategy development and implementation.
2024-2025 season you can find Coach Debbie doing the following:
• Owner and Director of Program and Player Development for Beaudies House of Hockey, Ringette and Skating
• President Warriors Ice Sports Training Society
• Head Coach, U18A Abbotsford Female Hockey Association
• Head Coach, 55+ Zone 3 Women’s Ice Hockey (BC 55 plus Games @ Salmon Arm)
• Assistant Coach, 60+ Zone 3 Women’s Ice Hockey (BC 55 plus Games @ Salmon Arm)
• Head Coach, 60+ BC Thunder Canada 55+ Games (Quebec City, Quebec)
• Coach Mentor and Development Coach for Canucks Autism Network
• Association, Team & Player Development Coach for various Ringette and Hockey Associations
• Private Skating and Skills Provider
• Currently working on completing the HP1 Hockey Canada Coaching Course
• Current Playing Information 2024 / 25
• Chilliwack Ringette 18+ Open B Division
• South Coast Female Hockey League Surrey Wildcats Senior AA
Lindsay Berman
Assistant Coach | Northeastern University Women's Hockey
Lindsay Berman graduated from Northeastern with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2011. While completing her undergraduate degree, Lindsay played professionally for the Boston Blades in their inaugural season of 2010-2011. She continued playing for the Blades of the CWHL through the 2014 season while taking on the assistant coach role at UMass Boston in that same span. Lindsay took a year off of her playing career in 2014-15 when she moved down to Providence to coach at Brown University. The head coaching job opened up at UMass Boston the following season, which brought her back to Boston for the next three years. In her first season as head coach, Berman led the Beacons to the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) tournament title and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Berman then guided the team to a program-record 19 wins in 2016-17 and was named the NEHC Coach of the Year in 2017-18 after helping the Beacons back to the conference title game. Lindsay was granted the opportunity of a lifetime in 2018 to return to her alma mater as an assistant coach. She has remained in that role since and is very much looking forward to her 4th season back on Huntington Avenue.
Cammy M Bernier
Assisstant Coach - Video Coordinator | Team Québec U18
Bernier is a dedicated hockey coach with a coaching resume that spans the developmental spectrum from U13 to USports. Rooted in a background of sports and education, she excels at translating complex tactical concepts into accessible instruction tailored to the age, gender, and skill level of her athletes.
She is widely recognized for her ability to build strong, positive rapport with players, cultivating a team culture that balances high-level success with a deep commitment to individual development. As a versatile and forward-thinking coach, Cammy’s player-centric approach has consistently driven results on the big stage—most recently evidenced by her contribution to Équipe Québec’s historic gold medal run at the November 2025 National Championships.
Lorenda Beuker
Director of Mindset & Team Success | Keiser University
Dr. Lorenda Beuker is the Director of Mindset and Team Success at Keiser University, where she leads team trainings that build strong culture, communication, and leadership. Her sessions include dynamic activations for rival matchups, championship games, and managing streaks, from minimizing losing streaks to maximizing bounce-back momentum. She takes a technique-based approach that helps teams find their expanded edge.
A former Team Canada goaltender and NCAA Division I coach at Princeton and St. Lawrence University, Dr. Beuker brings elite competitive experience together with applied mindset performance to help athletes and coaches perform under pressure.
Her methods are grounded in research, including her B-AMPT Present Body Awareness performance approach. Her current work includes Narcissism in Leadership and Sport, redefining confidence and authority as adaptive tools for leadership and performance, and the USA Hockey Emotional Intelligence Identification and Development project, helping coaches recognize and develop emotional intelligence in goaltenders and athletes.
Dr. Beuker has presented at The Coaches Site Live, the NHLCA, USA Hockey, and the NCAA Coaches Convention. She works alongside coaches to strengthen their message and help athletes turn it into action and results.
Carley Blomberg
Assistant Coach | Brock University Women's Hockey
For the past two years, Carley Blomberg has contributed as an Assistant Coach at Brock University while also leading the U22 Fort Erie International Academy Female Hockey Program. Her coaching approach is centered on supporting athletes in their holistic development, both on and off the ice, helping them reach their fullest potential.
Carley’s university career culminated in 2022 with an OUA Conference Championship with Brock University and a trip to the Women’s National U-Sport Championships in PEI. As a U-Sport Academic All-Canadian from 2017 through 2022 and a key member of the Badgers’ Leadership Group from 2018 to 2022, she demonstrated her commitment to excellence in both academics and athletics. In 2021, Carley was selected as one of six student-athletes named to Hockey Canada’s Creating Coaches Mentorship Program.
In addition to her university achievements, Carley served as an Assistant Coach with the Stoney Creek Sabres, capturing the Esso Cup U18 National Championship in 2023. On the international stage, Carley and her National Women’s Team Canada crew secured Gold at the 2022 World Ball Hockey Championship and Bronze in 2024. In 2023 she assisted Canada’s U21 Women’s National Ball Hockey Team at the World Ball Hockey Championship, capturing another gold.
Carley has been coaching and teaching skills for several years, collaborating closely with True Stride Hockey Development.
Sarah Bobrowski-Laird
Assistant Coach | Bemidji State University Women's Hockey
Sarah Bobrowski began her first season with the Bemidji State Women’s Hockey program in 2022-23 and served as an assistant coach. She joined Bemidji State after serving as an on-ice instructor with the Ottawa Senators Youth Hockey Program since April of 2021 and played professionally in Germany for one season.
Bobrowski played three seasons at Lindenwood University from 2014-17 where she set the program’s single-season record with 19 assists and was named to the College Hockey America (CHA) All-Academic Team and the CHA Playoff All-Tournament Team. She finished her collegiate career playing one season at Hamline University, earning selections to the CCM/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) West All-America Second Team, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) All-Conference Team, and the AHCA All-America Scholar Team. Bobrowski guided Hamline to its first Frozen Four appearance in program history and set an NCAA Division III single-game record with nine points.
While attending Hamline, Bobrowski began her coaching career in 2017 as a AAA girls hockey coach for the Minnesota Ice Cougars. After graduating from Hamline in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Bobrowski was an assistant coach with Mahtomedi High School from 2018-19.
Bobrowski went on to play internationally for Eisbaren Berlin in Germany from 2019-20 and finished the season tied as the team’s points leader.
Valérie Bois
Assistant Coach, New York Sirens
Amanda Bowenius
Assistant Coach | HC Vita Hästen U18 Region
Amanda Bowenius is an Assistant Coach for HC Vita Hästen U18 Region Men’s team in Sweden, with more than nine years of experience supporting athletes across youth and junior levels.
Amanda is not only breaking norms with her young age but also as one of the few female coaches in Sweden’s top junior leagues. She has also had the opportunity to work as a trainee coach in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest professional ice hockey league in Sweden.
In addition to coaching juniors, Amanda provides education and training for Swedish ice hockey coaches through the Swedish Ice Hockey Association while studying sports science with a focus on coaching.
Kristen Bowness
Youth Program Director | Utah Hockey Club
Kristen Bowness graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in physical education. During her time at UA, she played for the women’s hockey team for three seasons and earned her master’s degree in Sport Management and Athletic Administration. After graduation, she taught physical education for six years and was awarded Rookie Teacher of the Year for Arizona. Bowness was the manager of diversity development and sled hockey for the Tampa Bay Lightning for five seasons. She created, managed, and coached various levels of girls’ hockey throughout the Tampa Bay Area. She coached sled hockey teams and won 3 national championships while helping to establish Southeast region girls and sled hockey leagues with 6+ teams in each. She is a USA level 4 coach.
Megan Bozek
Olympian | USA Hockey
Megan Bozek is a 2x Olympic Silver Medalist for Team USA. She graduated from University of Minnesota with a Sport management degree. She won back to back national titles while at school. She is a 5x World Champion, and currently lives in Waterdown, Ontario.
Megan is also a desk analyst for the Vegas golden Knights and a TSN panelist for women’s international games. In 2023, she joined the New York Rangers for development camp as a guest coach.
Bethany Brausen
Head Coach | University of St. Thomas Women's Hockey
Bethany Brausen was named the head coach of Tommie Women’s Hockey in January 2025 after serving three and a half seasons as an assistant coach. She spent 12 games of the 2024-25 season as interim head coach, leading St. Thomas to its first sweep of a top-5 opponent over the No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Jan. 23-24.
Prior to joining St. Thomas, Brausen was an assistant coach at the Minnesota. She joined the coaching staff in 2016-17 after competing for the Gophers from 2010-14.
Before joining the Gophers coaching staff, Brausen spent two seasons serving as an assistant coach with the Breck High School girls’ hockey program where she worked with the team’s forwards to develop offensive skills and provided mentorship and mental skills development with all players. She also served as co-head coach in the Minnesota Elite League, teaching game skill and strategy and provided insight on recruitment, college hockey, and scholarship opportunities with top end players from Minnesota’s high school league. Brausen also has eight years of experience as a hockey mentor and instructor with OS Hockey in Roseville, Minn., where she aided in individual physical skill development as well as mental strength; developed athletes’ knowledge and execution of on-ice and dry land training; and designed and led practices intended to enhance individual and team development.
As a four-year letterwinner and two-time captain with the Gophers, Brausen was part of back-to-back national championship teams in 2012 and 2013 along with Minnesota’s national runner-up team in 2014. She helped the Gophers to a 139-17-5 (.879) record during her career, including an NCAA-record 62-game winning streak. Minnesota won three-straight WCHA Final Faceoff titles in Brausen’s sophomore, junior, and senior years and earned two WCHA regular season titles during her time. A three-time WCHA Scholar Athlete, Academic All-WCHA, and Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Brausen played in 161 career games while recording 51 points on 16 goals and 35 assists for the Gophers.
A native of Little Canada, Minn., she graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2014 with a degree in psychology. Later, Brausen interned with Premier Sport Psychology and JSA Advising to further her knowledge and experience in sport psychology and the mental implications in sport. She completed her Master’s degree in Counseling Student Personnel Psychology, specializing in career development with the higher education population, at the University of Minnesota in May 2017.
Amy Brolsma
Skating Coach | Green Bay Gamblers
Amy Brolsma is one of the premier power skating coaches in the Midwest. With 30 years of coaching experience, she has taught skaters from the beginning mite level to the NHL. Over the years, Amy has worked with many hockey players, associations, and teams in Wisconsin for 25 years and now in the Minneapolis area.
Training under the tutelage of Olympic figure skating coaches, she accomplished two US figure skating gold medal tests. As a Master Rated figure skating professional, Amy has presented at state and regional workshops and has been highlighted on figure skating websites for her skill teachings.
Personal Background:
B.S. in Human Biology with an emphasis in Exercise Science from UW-Green Bay
Sports Psychology certificate from US Sports Academy
Master Rated US Figure Skating Professional
The past 5 years she has worked closely with teams in the area including leagues USHL, NAHL and Division 1. Individually, her work includes skaters at all levels from mites through NHL. Using her talents to develop hockey players into efficient skaters.
Morgan Bronstein
Video Coach | Princeton University
Morgan Bronstein is entering her first year as the Director of Hockey Operations/Video Coordinator for Princeton. In 2021, Bronstein served as the women’s hockey intern for USA Hockey and has since been invited to the USA Hockey August Festival every year. She has been selected to work with both the Women’s National Team as well as the Under-22 Teams for these camps. She has served in hockey operations, video, and team leader roles in her time with USA Hockey. In the 2024-25 season Bronstein was the Director of Hockey Operations at RIT, where she took on many responsibilities including prescout, live game tagging, in-game replay, equipment and apparel ordering, travel arrangements, aiding the coaches on the ice with daily practices, and organizing and executing youth/prospect camps and clinics. She has experience with using Catapult Thunder at RIT and Catapult Focus at Princeton for video.
Bronstein earned a BA from Connecticut College in 2023 where she also played varsity hockey as well as a MS in sports administration from Boston College in 2024.
Mackenzie Bruch
Assistant Coach | Minnesota State University Women's Hockey
Mackenzie Bruch was hired by Minnesota State in April, 2024 and will be in her first season as Women’s Hockey Assistant Coach in 2024-25. Bruch came to the Mavericks from Yale, where she was the women’s hockey goaltending coach since 2021.
During her time at Yale the Bulldogs achieved program records – culminating in the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four National Semifinals, ECAC Regular Season Championship, Ivy League Championship. Her goaltenders earned season and career shut-out record, season and career GAA records, ECAC Goaltender of the Year, Top-10 National Goalie of the Year, and Patty Kazmaier Award Top-10 Finalist, and set the record for quickest goaltender to reach 50 wins in a career.
She is USA Hockey’s U18 Women’s National Team’s Goaltending Coach for the 2025 and perviously held the same role for the U22 Women’s National Team in both 2022 and 2023.
Bruch’s career also includes serving as a guest goaltending coach for the Red Wings’ Development Camp in 2024, consulting/scouting for the Omaha Lancers (USHL) and the Chicoutimi Saugeneens (QMJHL), and goaltending coach stints with Albertus Magnus College (Men), Wesleyan University (Women), Bemidji State University, and Pro Crease Goaltending.
A native of Powder Springs, Ga., Mackenzie played college hockey at Bemidji State University.
Christine Bumstead
Assistant Coach | PWHL Seattle
Christine Bumstead is a high-performance hockey coach in her 4th season with the University of Saskatchewan Women’s Hockey team. After many years coaching at the minor hockey level, she joined the Huskies as an assistant coach in 2021, helping lead the team to a USPORTS National bronze medal in her first season and a return to Nationals in 2024.
In 2023, she became the first female coach in Saskatoon Blades history, working in player development. The Blades captured the Scotty Munro Trophy as WHL regular-season champions with a 50-13-2-3 record that season. Now in her second season with the Blades, Bumstead continues to work closely with the players and coaching staff.
After serving as an Assistant Coach in 2023, Bumstead was named Head Coach for Team Manitoba at the 2024 U18 National Championship. She also led Team Canada’s women’s team as Head Coach/GM at the Deaf World Hockey Championship in 2024. Expanding into the men’s game, she has been named Assistant Coach for Team Manitoba’s U16 Male team, set to compete at the 2025 WHL Cup.
Bumstead was invited as a guest coach at Florida Panthers’ Development Camp and returned for NHL training camp, working alongside the Stanley Cup Champion winning champions. Balancing multiple roles, she continues to push boundaries in hockey, shaping the game through leadership and innovation.
Jessica Campbell
Assistant Coach | Seattle Kraken
Jessica Campbell served as an Assistant Coach for Germany at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championship, becoming the first woman to join the coaching staff of a national team participating in the World Championship. This past season, Campbell joined the Tri-City Storm, USHL development program, actively heading the Windy City Storm Girl’s Hockey program in Chicago while also serving as an assistant coach and skills coach for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
As a player, the Rocanville, Saskatchewan native represented Canada in two Under-18 World Junior Championships, serving as captain at the 2010 event, scoring the gold medal-winning goal, and earning tournament MVP. She also played five games for Canada at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship.
Campbell played three seasons (2014-15 – 2016-17) for the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), winning the Clarkson Cup in 2016. Prior to playing professionally, Campbell skated four years (2010-11 – 2013-14) at Cornell University, serving as captain in her senior season.
Courtney Carnes
Head Coach | Hebron Academy
Courtney Carnes is the Head Coach of Girls Varsity Hockey at Hebron Academy in Maine and the Director of Rink Operations at Robinson Arena. She brings extensive experience coaching at the prep school and competitive youth levels, with a strong focus on high-performance player development, recruiting, and program growth. A USA Hockey Level 5 coach, Carnes is committed to building competitive environments, developing accountable team culture, and preparing athletes for success at the next level.
Alyssa Cecere
Head Coach | McGill University Women's Hockey
Alyssa Cecere was appointed interim head coach of the McGill University women’s hockey team in September for the 2020-21 season. A fluently bilingual 32-year-old native of Brossard, Que., she had served as a full-time associate coach with the Martlets since August 2014.
Cecere replaced Peter Smith, who stepped down on Sept. 2, 2020, after 20 seasons behind the Martlets bench. She received a BFL Canada female coach-of-the-year award in May 2020 as the high-performance nominee from Hockey Quebec. She was an assistant with the Quebec under-18 female team at the 2019 Canadian championship in Manitoba. She is a Hockey Canada Skills Certified coach.
Cecere belongs to a rare group of players to reach the national gold medal game in five consecutive seasons. A member of five RSEQ conference championship-winning teams at McGill, she collected three gold medals at Nationals (2008, 2009, 2011) and a pair of silvers.
A product of Centennial Regional high school and Dawson College, where she captained the Blues, Cecere skated for five seasons with McGill before earning a physical education degree in 2011. A forward who led the Martlets for three years as an alternate captain, she tallied 43 goals and 110 points with 118 penalty minutes in 178 games overall. In 2009, Cecere played for a Canadian university all-star squad that won gold at the FISU Winter Games in Harbin, China. After concluding her collegiate career, she toiled with the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, helping them win a Clarkson Cup national title in 2012.
A long-time instructor at the Martlet Hockey School, Cecere served as an assistant coach at Dawson for three years prior to rejoining the McGill program in 2014.
Kori Cheverie
Head Coach | Montréal Victoire
Kori helped lead Team Canada to an Olympic Gold Medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and a Gold Medal at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championships in Calgary.
Kori Cheverie joined the men’s hockey coaching staff as a full-time assistant in August 2016.
Cheverie became the first female to be named a full-time assistant with a men’s hockey program in U SPORTS history.
In 2019 Cheverie was on the coaching staff for the gold medal-winning U18 Canadian national team at the U18 World Championship in Japan. She was also the gold medal-winning head coach of Team Ontario at the 2019 National Women’s U18 Championship.
Cheverie led the U18 Team Ontario squad at the 2019 national championship in Manitoba. In early 2020, she continued her work with Hockey Canada staff at the West Coast Rivalry Series.
History was made again by Cheverie on November 1, 2019, when she stepped in to coach the Rams to a 2-1 victory over Laurentian. In Head Coach Duco’s temporary absence, Cheverie was the first female to individually coach a men’s U SPORTS hockey team to a win. She helped Ryerson finish the 2019-20 season with a 20-5-3 record.
Prior to joining the men’s team, Cheverie spent three years at Ryerson as the Skate Training Specialist, working with the Rams hockey teams and external clients on stride mechanics and enhancing all-around hockey skills.
Cheverie played six seasons in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) with the Toronto Furies. Before that, Cheverie was a three-time AUS first-team all-star, team captain, Academic All-Canadian, and two-time female athlete of the year when she played at St. Mary’s University in Halifax.
Claire Jenkins Coffman
Head Skills Coach & Academy Assistant Coach | New Hampshire Mountain Kings
Coach Claire Coffman has played and worked alongside NCAA, AHL, OHL, WHL, NHL and Olympic athletes and coaches, learning from and developing strong relationships with them while continuously growing her knowledge of the sport.
Her love of hockey began in York, Pennsylvania at the age of six. During a playing career that would span the next eighteen years, Claire was an integral part of seven clubs across the country—including captaining the Chicago Young Americans to a Third Place at the National Championships in 2018. She attended two U.S. National Team Development Camps representing different Districts, and she played over one-hundred collegiate games between the University of Maine and Augsburg University.
Alongside her playing career, Claire has been coaching since 2015. She began as a Junior Instructor at the Impact Hockey Academy and, after being promoted to Instructor and then Lead Instructor, Claire has been the Director of the Academy for the last two years. At Augsburg she was also elected as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, partnering with University leadership to improve the student-athlete experience.
After completing her career as a player at Augsburg and graduating with a degree in Marketing and Management, Claire was invited to work alongside the coaching staff of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild during their 2024 Development Camp. There she coached ECHL, AHL, and soon-to-be NHL players, helping them improve their skills and conceptual understanding of the game. She will return to work with Wild again this summer.
In the fall of 2024, Claire started coaching with the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. With the Mountain Kings, she is the Head Skills, Strength, and Mobility Coach; helping players from 15 to 21 hone every aspect of their games while also improving the speed, strength and agility. In addition to this program-wide position, Claire is the Assistant Coach for the Mountain Kings’ North American Hockey League and North American 3 Hockey League teams.
Stacey Colarossi
Head Coach | Carleton University Women's Hockey
The fifth head coach in the modern history of the women’s hockey program, Stacey Colarossi, joins Carleton Athletics for the 2022-2023 season.
Colarossi joins the Ravens after serving as the Associate Head Coach for China Hockey and the Chinese Olympic Team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Colarossi was previously the Head Coach of the Laurentian Voyageurs, where she served in the role from 2012 to 2021. Colarossi joined Laurentian after spending eight years as an assistant coach with the York Lions.
In addition to her Olympic experience, Colarossi served as the Head Coach for Team Canada at the 2019 FISU Games, earning a silver medal. In 2017 and 2018, Colarossi was the Head Coach for the USPORTS All-Star Team at the Hockey Canada Summer Showcase. A current member of the NHL Female Mentorship Program and a Chartered Professional Coach, Colarossi has also served as an Assistant Coach for Team Canada at the 2011 FISU Games and with Team Ontario U18 from 2009 to 2011, capturing a national championship in 2010.
Colarossi is Hockey Canada High Performance 2 certified and is currently completing the Hockey Canada Women Master Coach Developer program.
Whitney Colbert
Head Coach, Hamlin University | Co-Founder, Forte Performance
Whitney Colbert (15-10-0, one season) will begin her second season as Hamline University head women’s hockey coach in 2022-23.
The Ithaca, New York native currently serves as a USA Hockey National Team Evaluator for both the Under-18 Team and National programs. Colbert was previously the assistant women’s hockey coach at NCAA Division I Union College in Schenectady, New York for the 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 seasons.
Colbert arrived to the Pipers following a one-season stint as the head women’s hockey coach at Blake School in Hopkins, Minnesota. Colbert kicked-off her coaching career at Connecticut College, where she served as an assistant women’s hockey coach during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. The Camels accumulated a 27-18-6 record over Colbert’s two seasons as assistant coach.
Colbert’s coaching career also includes the international stage, as she served as the Team China assistant women’s hockey coach at the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.
Colbert was a four-year member of the Trinity College (Conn.) women’s hockey team. She led the Bantams to NESCAC Tournament Final Four appearances in 2010-11, and 2011-12.
Colbert obtained her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Trinity (Conn.) in 2014, and earned a master’s degree in sports leadership from Northeastern University in 2017.
Delaney Collins
Head Coach | Hungarian National Women's Hockey Team
Delaney is a former Team Canada player and IIHF World Champion in 2000, 2004 and 2007. Delaney coached Team Canada’s Development Team and U18 National Team from 2013-2018. She coached at Mercyhurst University from 2011-2016. Delaney is currently the Head Coach of the Hungarian National Women’s Hockey Team. She is also a skills coach for the IIHF and the Nashville Jr. Predators.
Delaney and her husband Isaac have a five year old daughter, Gracie.
Jordan Colliton
Head Coach | University of Manitoba Bisons
Equipped with a vast array of experiences as a hockey player and coach, Jordan Colliton enters her first season as Head Coach for Bisons Women’s Hockey in 2025-26.
Colliton is a familiar face in the U SPORTS scene. The Blackie, Alberta native served as Assistant Head Coach for Mount Royal from 2015-22, and was later promoted to Associate Head Coach. With the Cougars, Colliton played a key role in the team’s overall culture and success, and was instrumental in the accomplishment of many program bests and firsts.
In 2017, MRU made the playoffs for the first time — just three years after transitioning from the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association to U SPORTS. It was the first of five straight post-season appearances with Colliton on staff.
Just two years later, the Cougars earned their first Canada West playoff win, and a season after that, they won their first Canada West playoff series, advanced to the Canada West final for the first time, and won their first CanWest silver medal. Two weeks after bringing home a conference silver medal, Mount Royal made their first appearance at nationals, upsetting the No. 2 seed Toronto 2-1 (the remainder of nationals was canceled due to COVID-19).
The 2021-22 campaign further elevated MRU’s program. The Cougars were Canada West regular season champions, finishing with the best record in school history, at 16-2-2 (.850 overall winning percentage). Mount Royal was also ranked in the U SPORTS Top Ten every week of the season, with a highest ranking of No. 2 overall.
From 2015-22, the Cougars had 16 conference all-star selections, seven Canada West Major Award winners, four U SPORTS All-Star selections, one national award winner, one Team Canada FISU selection, and 112 Academic All-Canadians.
Colliton has proven experience developing and mentoring athletes at all levels of hockey. From 2011-15, she coached at the prep school level with Ontario Hockey Academy and Pursuit of Excellence. She also worked with Hockey Alberta in the Female High Performance Program for nine years.
During her time as a prep school coach, Colliton helped over 100 student-athletes advance to either the NCAA Division 1, NCAA Division 3 or U SPORTS levels.
With Ontario Hockey Academy from 2011-13, the program had 21 U SPORTS commits at 13 different schools, with at least one in all four conferences. Additionally, 18 players advanced to the NCAA Division 3 level, and seven committed to NCAA Division 1 programs, at six different schools.
With Pursuit of Excellence, 21 alum advanced to the NCAA Division 1 level at 13 different schools, while seven committed to U SPORTS programs (five different schools, at least one in each conference), and seven comitted to NCAA Division 3 schools.
In 2022-23, Colliton took her talents internationally, serving as head coach for Leksands IF in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL). She had prior experience preparing athletes for international play, working for the Canadian National Team as a coach during the National Women’s Under-18 Team Summer Selection Showcase from 2019-21.
With Leksands IF — who play in one of Europe’s top women’s hockey leagues — Colliton guided the team to their best regular season finish in five years, and their first playoff win in eight years.
In the 2024 season, Colliton added further pro experience to her repertoire, serving as coach and scout for the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge, one of the league’s six charter franchises.
An NCAA Division 1 alum of the Maine Black Bears, Colliton played in 120 games, served as captain, was a member of the NCAA Division 1 SAAC-AAB and was a Scholar Athlete. Her brother Jeremy is currently an Assistant Coach with the New Jersey Devils and played for the New York Islanders.
Tara Connolly
Assistant Coach | Dartmouth Women's Hockey
Tara Connolly is entering her sixth year as an Assistant Coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), a Division-I school in Troy, NY. She oversees their recruiting and works with their goalies, penalty kill, and defenseman. Prior to that, she coached at Wesleyan University (Division III) for three years and obtained a master’s degree in Liberal Studies. At Wesleyan, she also operated as a Skills Coach and Goaltending Coach at IPH Hockey and ProCrease Goaltending, respectively.
Her playing experience includes four years as a goaltender on the Bowdoin College women’s hockey team (Division-III), where they won the 2013 NESCAC Championship in her senior year.
Izzy Cropper
Assistant Coach | MacEwan University Women's Hockey
Izzy was named an Assistant Coach for the MacEwan University Griffins women’s hockey team ahead of the 2024-2025 season. Prior to MacEwan, Cropper spent four years as an Assistant Coach with the University of Alberta Pandas women’s hockey team.
They completed a Master of Coaching degree at the University of Alberta in 2022, with a focus on organizational culture in team sport and implications of positive youth development outcomes in elite female hockey.
Alongside coaching with the MacEwan Griffins, Cropper is proud to work for Special Olympics Alberta — supporting athletes and coaches across the province.
Jackie Crum
Assistant Coach | University of Wisconsin - Madison
Jackie (Friesen) Crum, a former Wisconsin women’s hockey player, will enter her 17th season on the Badger bench during the 2025-26 season.
After serving as a short-term assistant during the 2009-10 season, Crum was officially appointed as an assistant coach of the Badgers for the 2010-11 campaign. She also brings a wealth of playing experience to coaching and is familiar with the program at UW after suiting up for the Badgers for four seasons.
Hometown: Regina, Saskatchewan
Education: B.S., Kinesiology – Physical Education, Wisconsin, 2006
Coaching Experience
- Assistant Coach, Wisconsin (2009-Present)
- Undergraduate Assistant Coach, Wisconsin (2005-06)
Playing Experience
- HC Slavia Praha Professional team (2007-09)
• Two-time Elite European League champions
• Two-time Czech League champions - DSC Oberthurgau Professional team (2006-07)
- Canadian Under-22 National Team (2001-04)
- Wisconsin (2001-05) — Four-year letterwinner, Assistant captain in 2004-05, Academic All-WCHA honoree
Crum returned to the UW bench to assist interim head coach Tracy DeKeyser during the 2009-10 season while head coach Mark Johnson took a one-year sabbatical to coach the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Crum, who works with the Badgers’ forwards, has helped the Badgers to 13 Frozen Fours, capturing the championship in 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025. She also helped Wisconsin win nine WCHA Playoff Championships and seven WCHA regular season titles.
She has also helped coach and oversee the development of three Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners (Meghan Duggan, Brianna Decker and Casey O’Brien), 10 All-Americans (Decker, Duggan, Laila Edwards, Hilary Knight, Sarah Nurse, Casey O’Brien, Annie Pankowski, Kirsten Simms, Abby Roque and Daryl Watts), and seven forwards (Emily Clark, Decker, Duggan, Knight, Nurse, Roque and Blayre Turnbull) that skated at the 2018 or 2022 Winter Olympics.
Crum also made her mark coaching internationally, as the Regina, Saskatchewan, native, serving as an assistant coach for the Canadian U-18 team from 2013-2015. The Canadian U-18 team won gold at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship before taking home silver at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship
Skating with the Badgers for four seasons from 2001-05, Crum accumulated 53 goals and 34 assists in her 136 games for the UW. An assistant captain in her final season, she also earned Academic All-WCHA honors in 2003 and recorded three hat tricks in her career at Wisconsin.
Crum also served as an undergraduate assistant coach for the Badgers during the 2005-2006 season, helping coach the squad to its first national championship.
No stranger to international play, Crum went on to play professional hockey overseas, where she competed in Switzerland for a year before playing for HC Slavia Praha in the Czech Republic. Her team won back-to-back titles in the Elite European League and was two-time Czech League Champions in 2008 and 2009.
Crum married Tim Crum in 2016, and the couple resides in Middleton with their daughters, Riley and Blake.
Nina Danforth
Head Coach | CT Junior Rangers
Nina Danforth is a USA Hockey Level 4 certified coach and former NCAA Division I athlete from Franklin Pierce University (Class of 2017), where she tied the program record for games played, ranked sixth in game-winning goals. Originally from Stratford, CT and a standout at Trumbull High School, Danforth now serves as Head Coach of the Connecticut Jr. Rangers 16U Girls Tier 1 team.
With 5 years of coaching experience, Danforth has developed and advanced top girls hockey talent. Her previous team won the 2024 AGHF Elite League Championship at the Tier 2 level and qualified for USA Hockey Nationals. She is now focused on growing Tier 1 girls hockey in Connecticut, training players with a college-level standard and helping them earn opportunities to play at the NCAA level.
Genevieve David
Assistant Coach | St Thomas University Women's Hockey Team
Born and raised in Acton Vale, Quebec, hockey has always been a part of Genevieve’s life. Genevieve played boy’s hockey growing up and only switched to female hockey at 15 years old, where she played Junior hockey with older girls.
Genevieve attended Moncton University from 2008 through 2013, graduating with a Bachelor of Social Work. She played five seasons with the Aigles Bleues women’s hockey team, and helped Moncton win an AUS Championship in 2008 and a Bronze medal at the National Championship that same year. She captained the team her last two seasons. During her time in Moncton, she was Female Athlete of the year at Moncton University, AUS First All-Star team, MVP of the female hockey team, Female Rookie of the year at Moncton University, AUS All-Star Rookie team and AUS Second All-Star team. Before joining the Aigles Bleues, David competed at Nationals in Salmon Arm, BC in 2005, with Team Quebec U18, where they finished second both times. She also played two seasons in the RSEQ with the Cegep Saint-Jerome Cheminots and one season in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) with the Quebec Avalanche.
Genevieve started coaching female hockey in 2013. She was the Head Coach of her first team the U15 AAA Moncton Rockets. From then, she moved up to Assistant Coach and then Head Coach to the U18 AAA Moncton Rockets. Genevieve has also been part of the Hockey New Brunswick High Performance Program since 2015. She has been either an Assistant or Head Coach of the U16 & U18 teams. Genevieve was the Head Coach of Team New Brunswick at the last Canada Winter Games in 2023 in PEI. Genevieve was also the Head Coach of Team Atlantic in 2019 and 2023.
In 2018, Genevieve joined the St Thomas University Women’s Hockey Team as an Assistant Coach, where the team captured their first Atlantic University Sports Championship (AUS) in program history. She has been with the team since.
Genevieve is Hockey Canada High Performance 1 certified and is currently completing the Hockey Canada Women Master Coach Developer program and the Hockey Canada National Skills Program.
Amy de Bree
Head Coach | Greater Vancouver Canadians U18AAA
For more than 20 years, Amy de Bree has been learning and teaching the game of hockey and the skills it requires. Her coaching career started on the skills side of the game with a strong focus in power skating and then when her playing career ended, she made the shift to team coaching.
Amy holds a Master of Education in Coaching Studies for the University of Victoria. It is through this Master’s program that she created her website athletetransitions.ca, which is a website dedicated to helping athletes prepare for and navigate their way through the transition away from competitive sport.
Amy is also the founder of the Women in Sport Speaker Series, which is a platform used to elevate the voices of women working in all aspects of sport. She is a strong advocate for creating equal opportunities and accessibility for women in sport. In 2022, Amy won the Bobbie Steen Legacy Foundation Award for her work with the Speaker Series and work to advance gender equity in sport.
In addition to her coaching, Amy is a High School Home Economics Teacher, the Camps and Clinics Programmer for the Vancouver Thunderbirds, and an Executive Director for the UBC Women’s Hockey Alumni Association.
Mia DelRosso
Assistant Coach | Trinity College Women's Ice Hockey
Mia has been coaching at Trinity College (CT) for 5 seasons, where she coaches the defence and penalty kill, manages recruiting processes, and runs both player development-based video and skills sessions. Before Trinity, Mia played defence at Amherst College (Class of 2021) and was in the Chinese Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Development Program ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Lilah Dima
Ice Hockey Coach Harlem Meer, Gottesman Rink NYC | RN Health Coach, NBA
Lilah is a wellness coach with a lifelong connection to instructing hockey and proven success guiding elite athletes and executives to reach their highest potential. With experience coaching athletes at all levels and collaborating with senior executives to deliver personalized, high-performance wellness strategies, she brings a holistic approach to optimizing performance, recovery, and resilience. Lilah is seeking to contribute to an NHL organization committed to growth, working alongside coaches, players, and medical staff to support sustained excellence, team culture, and long-term well-being for athletes and their families.
During the 2025–26 season, Lilah launched the Learn to Skate and Adult Hockey programs at the new Gottesman Rink at the Davis Center in Harlem’s Central Park, helping create a space where diversity, inclusion, and community thrive on the ice. Building confidence, access, and opportunity for both new and returning players and coaches made the rink’s inaugural season both a meaningful challenge and a deeply rewarding directorial success.
Alongside her on-ice work, Lilah serves as the RN Health Coach for the NBA, providing concierge-level wellness coaching and nursing support for league executives in collaboration with medical staff and benefits leadership.
Prior to returning to New York, Lilah spent three impactful years in Savannah, Georgia, expanding the game’s reach in the region. As head coach of the first women’s club hockey team at Georgia Southern University, she helped establish the foundation for women’s hockey in the area.
With more than 25 years of experience in hockey coaching, power skating instruction, and wellness accountability, Lilah is a trusted leader in player development. As a Registered Nurse and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, she integrates mindset awareness with physical performance to support sustainable success. Known as a mentor, motivator, and recruitment advocate, she helps athletes and executives maximize potential and build lasting habits for high performance.
Over the past two decades, Lilah has coached with the youth development programs of the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, along with other elite organizations, while also playing with the Long Island Hurricanes, the first women’s ice hockey team on Long Island. She has coached hundreds of athletes, many of whom have gone on to compete successfully at the NCAA level while excelling academically, athletically, and professionally.
Paddy Elsmore
Assistant Coach | Minnesota Wilderness (NA3HL)
Patricia “Paddy” Elsmore-Sautter has established a remarkable career in both playing and coaching ice hockey. Originally from Schaffhausen, Switzerland, she made an early impact by competing in the Adult Men’s Leagues and joining the Swiss National Team at just 13 years old, setting a precedent for future players. Her success continued at the NCAA Division 1 University of Minnesota Duluth, where she achieved League honors and secured multiple National Championships with UMD 2001, 2002, 2003. Paddy’s career further expanded to include various World Championships and International Tournaments worldwide. A career highlight was in 2006 when Team Switzerland qualified for the Olympic Games in Torino, Italy—a pinnacle moment accompanied by a gold medal at the World Championships, a 3rd place at the European Championship, numerous All-Star Team recognitions, and over 230 appearances for her country.
Paddy began her coaching career at UMD with a Coaching minor and moved on to coach the Roseau Rams while preparing for the Olympics. She served as the Goalie Coach for the Roseau Rams Girls High School Team, contributing to their 3rd place finish at the MN State High School Tournament in 2008, where her goalie earned a spot on the all-tournament team. That same year, she was invited to coach the Swiss National Team at the World Championships in Beijing, China. Upon returning to the Duluth area, Paddy spent five seasons as an assistant coach at the College of St. Scholastica. She also coached the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Girls High School team, aiding them in a State run in 2020, and worked with various youth teams within the CEC Organization, focusing on goalie development and serving on the CEC board. She was the Head Coach of the Girls High School team at Rock Ridge in Iron Range, Minnesota.
Paddy is a regular at the Minnesota Hockey Dave Peterson Goalie Camp and contributes to the Minnesota HP15/16 program. Holding a USA Hockey Level 4 coaching certification, she plays a significant role in the Minnesota USA Hockey development team as a GDL (Goalie Development Leader) with a Silver-level Goalie coaching certification.
Currently, she works with the NA3HL team, the Minnesota Wilderness, located in Eveleth, MN, as a full-time assistant coach, where she enjoys developing players both on and off the ice.
Married to her husband, Steve, for over two decades, they have two children, Anika and Neil, and reside in Esko, Minnesota.
Emily Engel-Natzke
Video Coach | Washington Capitals
Emily Engel-Natzke is entering her second season with the Capitals. Engel-Natzke, 32, previously served as video coach for Washington’s AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
With Hershey, Engel-Natzke was responsible for producing opponent pre-scouts and coaching reports, as well as in-game and postgame video breakdowns.
The Fort Collins, Colorado native previously worked with the University of Wisconsin’s men’s and women’s hockey teams as video coordinator from 2015-2017 and as assistant director of operations/video coordinator with the men’s team from 2017-2020.
In addition, Engel-Natzke has worked with USA Hockey as a video coach for the U18 and Senior Women’s National Teams. Engel-Natzke was part of the gold-medal winning staffs for the U18 team at the 2018 Women’s World Championship in Dmitrov, Russia, and for the Senior Women’s team at the 2019 World Championship in Espoo, Finland.
Engel-Natzke and her wife, Spencer, reside in Vienna with their dog, Hat Trick, and three cats, Sophia, Juusto and Lucy.
Heather Farrell
Associate Head Coach | Syracuse University Women's Hockey
Heather Farrell, a veteran coach with 20 years of coaching experience at all levels of the game, joined the Orange program as associate head coach in October 2022. Farrell’s resume includes stints as a collegiate head coach, collegiate assistant coach, secondary school head coach, administrator and teacher.
The 2004 graduate of Ohio State is coming to Syracuse after 11 years as the head coach at St. Paul’s School, a college preparatory boarding school in New Hampshire.
In her 11 years at St. Paul’s, Farrell guided the program to a 203-51-7 record, including New England Championships in 2015 and 2020. She was also the associate dean of admissions, director of office management, an advisor for students, and participated in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Alliance and Affinity council.
Prior to her work at St. Paul’s, Farrell was an assistant coach at Bemidji State University from 2007 through 2011, where she was responsible for planning team development, including individual skill and team systems/concepts, leading the penalty kill unit which led the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) with a 90.5 percentage and serving as the academic advisor for the team. She was also a physical education health and sport instructor and served on the Student Affairs committee at BSU.
Farrell began her collegiate coaching career at Bowdoin College in 2004 as an assistant coach. In 2006-07 Farrell served as the interim head coach when the head coach accepted a position at USA Hockey. During that season, she led the Polar Bears to a 17-7-2 record (11-3-2 NESCAC). Bowdoin lost in the NESCAC Tournament semifinals in overtime. In her two years as an assistant at Bowdoin in 2004-05 and 2005-06, the Polar Bears posted a 54-21-4 record, including 38-7-3 in NESCAC play and played in the 2004-25 NCAA Tournament. She also served as the events/game manager at Bowdoin in 2005, including as the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament liaison that fall.
Farrell, who earned a B.S. in sports studies with a minor in coaching and sports performance at Ohio State, played 132 games for the Buckeyes and help lead OSU to a berth in the WCHA semifinals as a senior.
Rachel Flanagan
Assistant Coach | Toronto Sceptres
Rachel is in her 2nd season as Assistant Coach with the PWHL Toronto Sceptres. Previously, she coached for 16 seasons at the University of Guelph, winning a USports National Championship in 2019 along with multiple OUA Championships (2016, 2017, 2019) and Coach of Year awards (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021) . Her overall record with the Gryphons was 267-96-21 through her 16 seasons in charge.
Rachel has also worked with Hockey Canada in a number of roles since 2010, including Assistant Coach with the Senior National Team (2023, 2024) and the National Development Teams (2011, 2012, 2022, 2023, 2024). She represented Canada in 2013 as an Assistant Coach for the Gold medal-winning Canadian FISU team (Italy) and in February of 2017 served as Canada’s Head Coach at the FISU games in Kazakhstan, leading the team to a silver medal.
Rachel presents regularly at the High Performance Level 1 Coaching Clinic and recently presented at The Coaches Site Live @ St Andrews College.
Rachel graduated from U of G in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Kinetics. During her playing career as a Gryphon she earned OUA all-star status while captaining the women’s hockey team for two of her five years. Following graduation, she received her Bachelor of Education at Lakehead University, and completed her Masters in Leadership at the University of Guelph’s Lang School of Business and Economics in 2019.
She lives in Guelph with her husband, Jeff, and 2 boys (14 & 10).
Janelle Forcand
Head Coach | Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy
Janelle Forcand enters her 6th season coaching with the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy (WJHA). For the 2021-2022 season, Janelle made the transition to coaching the boy’s U13 WJHA team with the goal of increasing female visibility on the bench for men’s hockey. Prior to assisting with the male program, Janelle served as the Head Coach for the U11 Female team & was the Female Hockey Coordinator for the WJHA program from 2018-2021. Her time with the WJHA involved planning and executing on-ice sessions for students from early years to high school, and she worked closely with WJHA female players as she managed all three female minor hockey teams. By fostering strong relationships and providing mentorship, and coaching resources, Janelle played a significant role in the successful restructuring of the female minor hockey teams. As a result of the reorganization, the WJHA was able to incorporate an all-female coaching staff for each female team by 2019, which continues to this day.
In addition to coaching with the WJHA, Janelle has over ten years of experience working as a skating and skill development coach in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Throughout her years, she has worked with various hockey programs, including Canlan Ice sports, community hockey teams, and the St. James Assiniboia Hockey Academy, which was the first officially licensed Hockey Canada Skills Academy in Canada. Most recently, Janelle coordinated the St. James Minor Hockey Initiation program, which is a seven-week structured learn-to-play-based program for five and 6-year-olds.
With a passion for teaching hockey at the grassroots level, Janelle accepted the role as the Grassroots Program Coordinator for Hockey Winnipeg in the summer of 2021. In her current role, Janelle implements and oversees all grassroots hockey initiatives for the ten minor hockey associations in Winnipeg, using her skills to further her passion and continue to grow the game of hockey.
Janelle currently serves on the St. James Assiniboia Minor Hockey Association Board as the Clinic Coordinator. Her time and dedication to the sport of hockey were recognized when she was awarded the Provincial and National Community Coach of the Year Award by BFL and Hockey Canada in May of 2021.
Jordan Forgione
Director | Little Caesars Girls AAA Hockey
Growing up, Jordan was a defenseman in Massachusetts playing for the Boston Iceman Boys AAA at the Brick Tournament in Edmonton and for the Middlesex Islanders Boys AAA in the Quebec Peewee Tournament. She was coached by NHL Alumni Randy Wood, and current General Manager of New Jersey Devils, Tom Fitzgerald. She played for Assabet Valley from 2008-2011, winning two USA Hockey National Championships in that time. Jordan played her last year of youth hockey with the U19 Little Caesars, and in the same year played for the U18 USA Women’s National 2012 Team at the World Championship in Zlin, Czech Republic.
Jordan played NCAAA Division I for the University of North Dakota and graduated in 2017, after graduation she played Professionally for the Boston Blades and Toronto Furies in the CWHL. She is currently a Michigan Area Scout for the Windsor Spitfires and is the Girls Director for Little Caesars AAA Hockey, along with coaching at U12, U16 & U19. She coaches alongside her husband, Tom. Tom played in the USHL and played division one college at the University of Vermont.
Jordan resides in Northville, Michigan with her husband, Tom, and their two huskies Caesar and Augustus.
Kennedy Ganser
Associate Coach | University of Alberta Pandas
Kennedy Ganser is from Provost, Alberta. She played 5 years for the University of Alberta Pandas while completing her Bachelors of Education degree. After university, she played professionally for two years in the PHF spending one year with the Buffalo Beauts and one year with the Metropolitan Riveters. She is now back at the U of A for her third year as an Associate Coach working under Howie Draper. Along with coaching at the U of A, she is a teacher/hockey academy director at Holy Redeemer Catholic School and is currently working on her Masters in Coaching at the U of A.
Katie Garrison
Head Coach | Cap City Cougars
Katie has extensive experience in hockey as both a player and a coach. She is a level 5 USA Hockey certified coach and also a USA Hockey coach developer. Katie has been coaching girls travel hockey for 9 years in Maryland and Wisconsin, although has coached all ages from the youngest kids through high school.
As a player, Garrison started when she was five years old. As a freshman in high school, she played in the New England Prep School League for Tabor Academy and during her senior year, she was invited to the U18 USA Hockey National Development camp. Katie went to play one year of NCAA division 1 hockey at the University of New Hampshire before transferring to the University of Michigan joining the club hockey there for 3 seasons, becoming captain in her senior season.
Meghan Gillis
Head Coach | Williams College Women's Hockey
In her eighth season as the head coach of the Ephs, Meghan Gillis had two players earn All-NESCAC honors and one earn the New England Hockey Writer’s DII and DIII All-Star award. In the 2018-19 season, Gillis led her team to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Division III tournament with a 21-5-3 record. Sophomore forward Meghan Halloran was named to the AHCA All-American Second Team and was also NESCAC Player of the Year.
Meghan Gillis was named the head coach of women’s ice hockey at Williams College on May 27, 2011. In her first year at the helm of the Ephs Gillis fashioned an overall record of 11-14 nearly tripling the win total of the Ephs in 2010-11 (4-17-1).
Gillis would take the program to the next level in 2014, leading the team to the first NESCAC championship title in Eph history. The team would be crowned at home in Lansing Chapman Rink after earning the right to host the championships for the first time in the history of the tournament. The notable season would come to an end in the national quarter final game with a loss to the evental 2014 national champion, ending the Eph season with 15 wins.
Before Williams, Gillis spent two years at Pomfret School (Pomfret, CT) as an assistant director of admissions, head girls’ ice hockey coach, and assistant softball coach. Pomfret compiled a 21-16-9 record during Gillis’ tenure. In her first year as head coach, Pomfret advanced to the Division I playoffs for the first time since 2006.
Prior to Pomfret, Gillis spent one year as an assistant women’s ice hockey coach at Amherst College, where the Jeffs captured the program’s first NCAA Division III Championship. While at Amherst, Gillis received her Master’s of Science in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management.
A native of Whycocomagh, Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia), Gillis graduated from Bowdoin College in 2007 with a major in government and legal studies and a minor in English. A highly decorated women’s ice hockey player at Bowdoin, Gillis was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2004, as her 24 goals and 19 assists left her with the highest point total both on her team and among conference rookies.
In her four years on the ice, Gillis earned three All-NESCAC Team honors and one All-America selection, graduating from Bowdoin with 154 career points, good for third on the program’s all-time scoring list. The Polar Bears were a combined 75-26-1 (.740) during Gillis’ time, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament twice, advancing to the NESCAC finals three times and winning the conference title once.
Bertha González
Sports Youth Director, Club Osos México | Assistant Coach, U18 Mexico Women's National Team
Bertha González is an ice hockey coach based in Mexico City. She currently serves as Sports Youth Director at Club Osos México and Assistant Coach of the U18 Women’s National Team. With over 12 years of experience in coaching, youth development, and sports operations, she has contributed to the growth of hockey in Mexico. Bertha was part of the country’s first women’s national team and holds a degree in Nutrition and an MBA from Universidad Anáhuac México.
Katie Greenway
Assistant & Goaltending Coach | University of Guelph Women's Hockey
- Goaltending Coach with over 12 years experience at Local Minor Hockey, Provincial, National, University, and Professional Levels.
- Member of Hockey Canada Goaltending Advisory Board
- Member of CCM Goaltending Advisory Group
- Goaltending Coach, Canada’s National Women’s Development Team
- Goaltending Coach & Assistant Coach, University of Guelph Gryphons
- Former Goaltending Coach at Canada’s National U18 Selection Camp
- Former PWHPA Goaltending & Assistant Coach
- Former U SPORTS student-athlete
- NCCP, High Performance 1 Certified Coach
- NCCP Goaltending Level 3 Certified Coach
Kathryn Griswold
Head Coach | Alvirne Milford Boys' Varsity Ice Hockey
Kathryn Griswold is driven by a single belief: incredible things happen when people don’t know they can’t. Her mission is to grow the game of hockey, empower girls, and bring joy, confidence, and lifelong lessons back to youth and adult sports.
Kathy has recently taken over as the Head Coach of the Alvirne-Milford Boys’ Varsity Ice Hockey Program in New Hampshire. Her previous experience includes serving as an Assistant Coach with the Rivier University women’s ice hockey team (New Hampshire), Head Coach for The Green Vale School Hockey program (New York), The Town of Oyster Bay Girls and Adult programs (New York), and The Junior Rangers Girls (New York). A dedicated advocate for the sport, she is also spearheading efforts to expand collegiate club hockey opportunities for women.
A native of Plainville, MA, Kathy began her coaching career at just 14 years old, assisting a local boys’ 12U travel soccer team. Since then, she has held coaching roles across a wide range of school, community-based, and travel organizations, including East Woods School (New York). In 2023, she received her Level 5 USA Hockey Coaching Certification.
Kathy’s path to the ice was unconventional and it has made her a dynamic force in the sport. A standout scholar-athlete in softball at King Philip High School and recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, she believed her competitive sports days were behind her—until the 2012 NHL lockout. During that time, she found herself at adult hockey clinics run by New York Islanders coaches and quickly developed a passion for the game. She’s been committed to developing the sport at the grassroots level ever since.
Off the bench, Kathy is an active player in women’s tournaments and coed recreational leagues. She’s also a results-driven small business consultant, marathon runner, yoga educator (ERYT 500), budding nutrient-dense chef, animal rescue advocate, goalie mom, and proud supporter of female athletes. She holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union, an MBA from Hofstra University, and is currently pursuing certification in Systemic Constellations.
Taylor Ham
Head Coach | St. George's School Girls Varsity
Taylor attended Manhattanville University (class of 2022) and helped lead the team to two conference championship game appearances, while captaining the team for two seasons and earning a spot on the All-American Scholar Team. She graduated with honors with a bachelor’s in marketing and mathematics.
Beth Hanrahan
Assistant Coach | Brown University Women's Hockey
Beth Hanrahan joined the Brown women’s hockey program as an assistant coach ahead of the 2022-23 season.
A graduate of Providence College, Hanrahan returned to Rhode Island after previously serving as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst University for four seasons.
At Mercyhurst, Hanrahan led recruiting efforts, video sessions and on-ice skill development. During her tenure, the Lakers made three appearances in the College Hockey America conference tournament, capturing the 2020 CHA tournament title to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Elite 8.
Prior to Mercyhurst, Hanrahan spent one season as an assistant at Lindenwood University, assisting the head coach in recruiting and evaluating of prospective Division I student-athletes, providing film analysis and scouting reports, and running the team’s social media accounts.
Hanrahan began her coaching career during the 2016-17 season at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minnesota, one of the most successful girls’ hockey programs in the country. She helped develop elite talent at the U16 level to prepare players for the college level by implementing both on-and-off ice training, monitoring academic progress, and coordinating practice and travel plans.
Prior to embarking on her coaching career, Hanrahan played one season for the New York Riveters in the inaugural 2015-16 season of the Nationals Women’s Hockey League.
Vanessa Hettinger
Skating Coach | Tri-City Americans
Vanessa Hettinger is a highly respected and recommended coach and business consultant. With over 20 years of coaching and leadership experience, Vanessa knows how to identify and develop elite talent. She has worked with thousands of athletes and won 3 WHL Championships and a Memorial Cup Championship as Skating Coach with 3 separate WHL organizations.
As a Master Coach for Hockey Canada, Skate Canada, and businesses in the private sector, Vanessa has mentored, evaluated, and inspired hundreds of coaches, helping them reach new heights in their careers. Her passion and motivational skills have made her a prominent figure in sports leadership and coaching.
In business, Vanessa has been involved with numerous start-ups in the hockey world and ran a well-renowned business for 20 years. She has contributed to a range of innovative technologies and initiatives, worked alongside leading coaches and trainers in the industry, and has served as an expert witness for legal teams.
Vanessa has recently joined ZerOne as the CEO of Hockeyology, where she will lead the launch of a state-of-the-art 16,000-square-foot training facility. Scheduled to open in October 2024, Hockeyology will introduce a groundbreaking non-linear training approach, featuring advanced equipment, a top-tier coaching team, personalized assessments, and data-driven programming.
Sarah Hilworth
Head Coach | University of New Brunswick Women's Hockey
Sarah Hilworth is the current Head Coach for the University of New Brunswick REDS located in Fredericton, NB. A native of Vancouver, BC, Hilworth has had 10 years of professional coaching experience and has been involved in volunteer positions for over 15 years. Her current role sees her as an ambassador to the game of hockey in Fredericton, and she has brought success back to the UNB campus in a short period of time.
In 2021-22, Hilworth coached the REDS to the AUS regular season title and the league championship, the first in UNB women’s hockey history. She was named the AUS Coach of the Year, becoming the first REDS coach to earn the honour. In June of 2022, she was named the recipient of Hockey Canada’s BFL High-Performance Female Coach of the Year Award.
Hilworth led UNB’s return to Atlantic University Sport and U SPORTS competition in 2018-19, guiding the REDS to a 4th place regular season finish and a second-round playoff berth. In 2019-20, Hilworth and the REDS again finished 4th in the AUS and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
In two seasons of competition under Hilworth’s direction, the Reds are 46-23-8 in regular season play and 10-7 in post-season (AUS & U SPORTS).
She came to UNB after an extensive playing and coaching career in western Canada.
Hilworth attended the University of Alberta from 2008 through 2013, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sport, Recreation, and Tourism.
She played five seasons with the Pandas women’s hockey team, accumulating 100 points (50 goals and 50 assists) in 100 games, helped Alberta win a national championship in 2010, and captained the team in her final season. Hilworth returned to her alma mater to serve as an assistant coach with the Pandas, helping guide the team to consecutive first-place finishes and the 2015 Canada West title. Later that year, she was named the first coach of the Olds College Broncos, of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.
Hilworth spent two seasons building the Broncos. On top of coaching at Olds College, Hilworth pursued a Master of Science in Coaching Education from Ohio University and graduated from the program in 2017.
Brooke Hobson
Player | Ottawa Charge
Brooke Hobson is a professional women’s hockey player and emerging coach with experience at the highest levels of the game. She graduated from Northeastern University after five seasons with the Huskies, earning degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. Following her collegiate career, Brooke played one season overseas with MoDo in the SDHL before joining the Professional Women’s Hockey League. She spent the league’s first two seasons with the New York Sirens and is currently signed with the Ottawa Charge for her third PWHL season.
Brooke has a strong passion for individual player development and supporting mental health within the sport. She brings extensive experience mentoring collegiate athletes both on and off the ice, as well as in the gym, helping players grow in their skills, confidence, and overall well-being. With a vision to continue impacting players and the game long after her playing career, Brooke combines her international experience, elite-level competition, and holistic player support to be a dedicated and well-rounded presence in any coaching environment.
Venla Hovi
Assistant Coach | Harvard University Women's Hockey
Venla was born in Tampere, Finland, and has lived the past eight years in North America. Her values that she lives by are hard work, honesty and team first mentality. Those values heavily reflect on what she learned through growing up in Finland and playing for the Finnish National team for 13 years. She began playing hockey at the age of 4 and has been living and breathing the game since. Venla was a fast, dynamic, two-way forward who took pride in doing whatever it takes for her team to be successful. She retired from playing 2019 after playing her last game in a historical gold medal game against USA in front of a home crowd.
Venla is recently starting a new position at Harvard University as an Assistant Coach. At Harvard, she will be in charge of the team’s offensive performance including the power play as well as recruiting and supporting the student athletes. Last season she made her pro debut as the Head Coach of the Metropolitan Riveters in the PHF. With the Riveters, on top of building a fully new and competitive team in New Jersey, she took pride in raising the level of professionalism within the league, her staff and her athletes. Prior to her pro experience, she Head Coached the female U17 prep team at Okanagan Hockey Academy for two years. She also gained experience in Winnipeg working as an On-Ice Instructor for the Jets Hockey Development while assistant coaching the University of Manitoba Bisons.
Venla has gained experience coaching players of all ages and skill levels, both female and male players. She is also the founder and director of VH Hockey, which is a training platform for athletes in Finland, including hockey camps and a future mentorship program. VH is a way for Venla to bring her coaching knowledge back home and give back to the community she grew up playing in.
Her interest in coaching started during the last years of her extensive playing career; She is now able to use her own experiences to help players reach their full potential, and pave the way for young girls who dream about playing and coaching at the highest levels.
Playing career highlights
- Three-time Olympian, Team Finland 2010, 2014, 2018
- Two-time Olympic Bronze medalist 2010, 2018
- U SPORTS National Champion 2018 with the University of Manitoba Bisons
- IIHF Women’s Hockey World Championships medalist 2008, ‘09, ‘17, ‘19
- CWHL Canadian Women’s Hockey League Clarkson Cup Champion 2019
- Three-time Finnish Women’s National League Champion 2006, 2010, 2011
Sheri Hudspeth
Director of Youth Hockey Programs & Fan Development | Vegas Golden Knights
Sheri Hudspeth, a native of Aurora, Ontario, Canada, is currently the Director of Youth Hockey Programs and Fan Development for the Vegas Golden Knights. Sheri oversees the youth hockey initiatives focusing on on-ice programming, including NHL Learn-To-Play, Lil’ Knights, and Mites at Knight for VGK and the Henderson Silver Knights. When not on the ice, Sheri assists with the team’s marketing, sponsorship, and community outreach initiatives. The 2023 Stanley Cup Champions have helped spark a 260% increase in the state’s hockey participation since the team arrived in 2017, the nation’s largest percentage growth in that time. Sheri is a Level 4 USA Hockey Coach and the USA Hockey Girls Development Representative for Nevada. She played her competitive hockey with the Toronto Aeros and accepted a full scholarship to play NCAA college hockey at Minnesota State University. Sheri resides in Summerlin with her husband James and corgis Auston & Jaxon.
Kirsti Hussey
Associate Head Coach | University of Maine Women's Hockey
Kirsti Hussey is in her third season on the Maine Women’s Hockey staff in the 2024-25 season.
Previously, Hussey served as an assistant coach of the Brown University women’s ice hockey team. Hussey was responsible for practice planning and implementation, NCAA compliance, and spearheaded the program’s recruiting.
Before her time at Brown University, Hussey served for three seasons as the head coach of the girls’ ice hockey team for St. Mark’s School as well as serving as Assistant Athletic Director.
Previous to arriving at St. Mark’s, Hussey held previous assistant coaching positions at the University of Connecticut and Hamilton College.
In addition to her years of college coaching experience, Hussey worked for USA Hockey Girls’ Player Development Camps from 2009-2024. Her various roles at the camps have included head coach, assistant on-ice director, and on-ice skills coach and evaluator.
Before moving on to coaching, Hussey played for the Oakville Ice and the Ottawa Raiders of the National Women’s Hockey League in Canada from 2005-07.
As a collegiate player, Hussey began her career at Bowdoin College (2001-03) where she guided the Polar Bears to two NCAA Frozen Fours while earning First Team All-American, NESCAC First Team and Rookie of the Year honors. She was also tied for first in Division III for defenseman scoring. Hussey finished up her collegiate career at Dartmouth College (2003-05) where she again led her team to back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances as well as an Ivy League Championship in 2004.
Hussey has participated in the USA 18’s and 19’s Junior National Camp and was twice a part of the USA Women’s National Team Festival in 2002-03.
Kim Interdonato
Skating Director | Peconic Ice Rink & Hockey Foundation & Head Coach | Patchogue Medford JV High School
Emily Janiga
Head Coach & Girls Hockey Director | New Jersey Colonials
Emily Janiga brings elite playing and coaching experience to the New Jersey Colonials as the Girls Hockey Director. A former professional player, she competed in the PHF, NWHL, PWHPA and the CWHL. She played NCAA Division I hockey at Mercyhurst University, where she served as team captain.
As the Girls Hockey Director, her mission is to create a clear development pathway for female athletes, building confident, skilled, and resilient players while fostering leadership, accountability, and a lifelong love for the game. She is committed to growing girls’ hockey by providing opportunity, mentorship, and a culture that empowers athletes to reach their full potential both on and off the ice.
Ashlea Jones
Technical Power Skating Coach | Ashlea Jones Athletes in Training
Ashlea Jones is an elite Technical Power Skating Specialist and owner of Ashlea Jones Athletes in Training, with over 18 years of experience training hockey players from minor hockey to the NHL. A former competitive figure skater (15-year career, 5 National Championships), she specializes in edge work, stride, acceleration, and the micro mechanics of movement in detail. She has worked with teams like the the NHLs Carolina Hurricanes( Dev Camp)OHL’s Oshawa Generals and Peterborough Petes.
Whitney Juszkiewicz
Head Coach, Northern Alberta Xtreme | Owner, Fire and Ice Hockey Development
Whitney’s attention to detail benefits players who aspire to reach the next level in their hockey careers. This past season, Whitney coached with the Male AAA, BCEHL, Fraser Valley Thunderbirds, and as Head Coach of the Female AA, Pacific Coast Elite Valley team. She also recently coached with the Jr A, Coastal Tsunami, PJHL. Whitney has worked as an Associate Coach with the Delta U18 Female Prep Team, CSSHL. She was an assistant coach with the Female U18 Team BC, which won Bronze in Dawson Creek and Gold at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in PEI. Whitney has coached multiple years with the BC Hockey Male POE U16 BC Cup and U15 Provincial tournaments. As a Hockey Canada Certified Skills coach, she has worked with BC Hockey in coaching their U12/U14 Female POE Development camps since 2016. Whitney Juszkiewicz played for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and Team Alberta.
Liz Keady Norton
Head Coach | Milton Academy Girl's Hockey
Liz Keady Norton was named head coach of the Dartmouth women’s hockey team in May of 2021. She is the Big Green’s 11th head coach in the program’s 44-year history.
Keady Norton comes to Dartmouth from Boston University, where she spent two seasons as assistant coach before being elevated to associate head coach in May of 2019. Under her tutelage, seven forwards were selected as Hockey East All-Stars, five different forwards matched or exceeded their career-best point totals, and two Terriers were named top-10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
Since Keady Norton’s arrival ahead of the 2017-18 season, the Terriers went 59-39-18, with a shortened 2020-21 season affected by COVID-19. BU made it to the Hockey East quarterfinal her first year, the semifinal in 2018-19, and the quarterfinal the next two seasons. The Terriers went 8-1-1 against ECAC Hockey opponents during those four years, defeating Brown, Yale, Harvard and Union multiple times while only being stymied by Princeton.
No stranger to ECAC Hockey, Keady Norton spent one season as an assistant at Union (2014-15) and two years at Harvard (2015-17) before making her way to BU. During the 2015-16 season, she helped guide the Crimson to six wins over ranked opponents. Prior to entering the Division I coaching ranks, she served as head coach for the girls’ varsity hockey team at Andover High School (2012-14).
She graduated from Princeton in 2008 with a degree in psychology. A native of Braintree, Massachusetts, she ended her career with 79 points from 38 goals and 41 assists in 118 games. Named team captain for the 2007-08 season, she led the team in plus/minus (+15) in 2004-05, short-handed goals in 2006-07 and game winning goals in 2007-08.
Keady Norton was also named the team’s MVP and Most Improved Player following the 2004-05 season and earned All-ECAC Hockey Honorable Mention and All-Ivy Second Team accolades that same year. She took the 2005-06 season off from Princeton to train with the U.S. national team, appearing in 16 games during the team’s pre-Olympic tour.
Kristi Kehoe
Assistant Coach, William Smith College Women's Hockey | Director of Player Development, New England District | Female Hockey Ambassador | Nashville Predators
Kristie is currently serving as an Assistant Coach with William Smith College, the Director Player Development for the New England District with USA Hockey and is the Female Hockey Ambassador for the Nashville Predators. In her role as the Director of Player Development, she is in charge with developing, creating, and leading an evaluation staff that can identify and select the top female players to represent the New England District at the National level. Additionally, she. is responsible for developing on-ice curriculum using ADM guidelines for the NE Player Development Camp and is involved in creating a long-term development process for NE players of all ages to ensure proper continued and early player development.
Kehoe has a wealth of experience from 12 years of coaching and development. From 4 years as NCAA D1 Associate Head Coach to IIHF, helping guide Hockey China to its best finish at the World Championships in 5+ years. She has also been an NCAA D3 Head coach, and still is very involved in the U18 USA Hockey Development camp process.
During her playing career, Kehoe was a four-year standout for Northeastern University. Kehoe registered 135 games played, scoring 45 goals and dished out 43 assists. Kehoe was an all-rookie selection and rookie of the year for Northeastern in her first season. Kehoe led the team in scoring for three seasons (Goals/Assists/Points) and was named to the Northeastern’s Hockey East All-Decade Team.
Claudia Kepler
Skating and Skills Development Coach & Owner | Hockey EDU
Claudia Kepler is a professional skills and skating coach in Madison, WI. She is the business owner of Hockey EDU and currently runs camps, clinics, and partnerships with youth organizations to teach hockey skills and skating development to hockey players of all ages around southern Wisconsin.
One of Claudia’s favorite memories of coaching includes becoming an assistant coach for the Syracuse University Women’s Hockey program (NCAA D1) and winning the CHA Tournament and the CHA regular season in the 2021-2022 season.
During her playing career, she was a professional hockey player for HV71, Kunlun Redstar, and the Buffalo Beauts. She played D1 NCAA hockey for the Wisconsin Badgers and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Karissa Kirkup
Head Coach | Team Manitoba and U18 AAA Westman Wildcats
Karissa Kirkup is an accomplished hockey coach and educator with a strong foundation in player development, high performance coaching, and leadership. With over a decade of involvement in hockey as a player, coach, and mentor, Karissa brings a dynamic and inclusive approach to athlete development at both grassroots and elite levels.
Currently serving as Head Coach of Team Manitoba and the U18 AAA Westman Wildcats in the Manitoba Female Hockey League (MFHL), Karissa has also served in various provincial and national coaching roles. Her recent coaching accolades include receiving the prestigious 2025 Hockey Canada BFL Women in Coaching National Competitive Award and winning back-to-back-to-back MFHL championships (2021-2022, 2022–2023, 2023–2024).
Karissa is NCCP High Performance 1 Certified and a Group Leader Facilitator, holding credentials across multiple streams. She is a certified Learning Facilitator across several of these domains and plays an instrumental role in coach education and mentorship.
Her coaching career spans multiple levels—from U7 to U18 AAA—highlighted by her commitment to both competitive success and player well-being. In addition to her coaching, Karissa is a full-time educator with a background in Kinesiology and a Master of Education candidate. Her teaching experience includes permanent classroom positions and a wide range of professional development in education, leadership, and mental health.
A former USport National Champion and Assistant Captain with the University of Manitoba Bison Women’s Hockey Team, Karissa also played for the NCAA Division 1 University of Maine Black Bears, represented Team Manitoba twice winning a silver and bronze medal, and has experience with the Canadian Development Team.
Beyond the rink, she is a committed volunteer and leader, having contributed to Indigenous committees, wellness initiatives, and youth development programs. Her holistic approach to coaching reflects her passion for athlete growth, ethical leadership, and community building.
Allie LaCombe
Co-Founder, Assistant Hockey Director & Head Coach | Nashville Warriors Hockey Club
Allie LaCombe is the Co-Founder, Assistant Hockey Director and Head Coach for the Nashville Warriors Hockey Club in Nolensville, Tennessee. LaCombe is entering her third season as a Head Coach and Warriors Skills Coach.
Allie is a former collegiate and professional hockey player from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. During her professional playing career, LaCombe most recently signed with the Connecticut Whale in the NWHL. Previously, she played semi-professional in the European league, EWHL, for the Vienna Sabers in Austria and with Almaty Aisulu in Kazakhstan. LaCombe played four years of collegiate NCAA Division I hockey at Syracuse University in Upstate New York, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management.
LaCombe has also trained NHL, AHL, USPHL, and NCAA players in on ice skill development. Allie resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mia Landry
Head Coach | St. Catharines Jr.Badgers
Mia Landry is a former USPORT hockey athlete at BrockU, and is the Head Coach of the U15AA St. Catharines Jr. Badgers. She currently serves as an alternate coach for the women’s team at Ridley College for the remainder of the 2025–26 season. She has also contributed as a high-performance skills development coach within the Jr. Badgers association.
Beyond the bench, Mia has worked as a mental performance consultant with CEP Mindset, supporting athletes in building resilience and optimizing performance. She also serves as a female mentor with UPFRONT Sports, providing guidance, video analysis, and on-ice development opportunities for young players navigating today’s minor hockey landscape.
In October 2025, she was appointed Manager of Growth and Retention of Women and Girls’ Hockey at Hockey Canada. In this national leadership role, she leads strategic initiatives to expand participation, strengthen development pathways, and foster an inclusive environment for women and girls across the country.
The 2025–26 season marks her first year as a head coach within the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association, underscoring her continued commitment to both grassroots and high-performance hockey development.
Abby Laporte
Head Coach | Airdrie Lightning
Abby Laporte is a passionate and dedicated hockey coach with a proven track record of developing elite female athletes. Coaching since the age of 15 (2016), she has steadily advanced through the ranks and is now a High Performance 1 certified coach — one of the top coaching designations in Canadian hockey.
Currently the Head Coach of the Airdrie Lightning U18AA, Abby was recognized as the Alberta Female Hockey League’s U18AA Coach of the Year in 2024/2025. Her leadership helped guide her team to a #1 national ranking and a championship win at the Nashville Jr. Predators Showcase.
With coaching experience spanning grassroots to high-performance, Abby has worked with organizations including the Nepean Wildcats, East Ottawa Stars, and Airdrie Lightning. She is committed to building athletes’ skills, hockey IQ, and love for the game, emphasizing a team-first culture and a positive, competitive environment.
Her coaching philosophy blends technical skill development with mental performance training, ensuring players grow both on and off the ice. Abby’s ultimate goal is to help athletes reach their full potential and inspire the next generation of female hockey leaders.
Kathleen Leary
Assistant Coach | Boston College Women's Hockey
Kate Leary is in her second year as an assistant coach at Boston College. Prior, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Merrimack College, and the 2020-21 season at St. Anselm College. For the 2019-20 season, Leary was the head coach of Walpole Express Girls juniors’ team and served as the Director and Advisor for Trax Academy in Walpole, Mass.
Leary played four seasons for Boston College and was a part of four NCAA Tournament teams and three Frozen Fours while winning two Hockey East regular season titles along with the 2014 Beanpot championship. She skated in 149 career games with 42 goals and 43 assists for 85 points, recording a career-high 17 goals and 31 points as a senior in 2014-15.
The Seabrook, N.H. native played professionally for the Boston Blades in the CWHL (2016-18), the Hockey Club Ladies Lugano in Switzerland in the SWHL A (2018-19) and then for the Metropolitan Riveters in the NWHL (2019-21). Leary was named NWHL Newcomer of the Year for the 2019-20 season.
Leary graduated from Boston College in 2015 with bachelor’s degrees in Applied Psychology and Human Development and History. She went on to earn a master’s degree from BC in Sports Administration in 2021.
Gosia Leszkowicz
Mental Performance & Ice Hockey Coach
Gosia Leszkowicz has lived and breathed hockey for more than 30 years — first as an elite player, and today as a coach dedicated to developing confident, resilient, high-performing athletes.
A former Danish National Team player for over 15 years and 13-time Danish Champion, Gosia understands what it takes to perform under pressure at the highest level. That experience now shapes her coaching philosophy: true performance is built on skill, discipline, and a trained, resilient mindset.
Since 2007, Gosia has coached players across all development stages — from young athletes building their foundation to elite junior players preparing for the next step. She has worked with more than 1,000 players, with a clear focus on skill development, mental strength, and competitive mindset.
Most recently, she served as Head Coach of U14 Nacka Junior Boys in Sweden (2024–2025), where she built a demanding yet positive environment focused on decision-making under pressure, discipline, and long-term player development.
Gosia’s approach is holistic. With a background in coaching and communication from Copenhagen Mindjuice Academy and certifications in performance coaching, she integrates mental performance, leadership, and game understanding into every session. She believes mindset is often the difference between good players and great competitors.
She also brings a unique perspective as a hockey parent. As the mother of twin sons who both played elite-level hockey abroad, she understands the journey from every angle — player, coach, and parent.
In 2024, Gosia joined the NHL Coaches’ Association Female Coaches Development Program.
What stands out when working with Gosia is her presence and energy on the ice. She creates an environment where players feel challenged, supported, and pushed beyond their limits. Her strength lies in building confidence, sharpening focus, and developing athletes who can perform consistently when it matters most.
For Gosia, hockey is more than a game, it’s a platform for growth. Her mission is to help the next generation unlock their full potential, both on and off the ice.
Amanda Sargeant Levesque
Head Coach | Tri City Predators & Assistant Coach, Fraser Valley Rush U18 AAA
Born in Brampton, ON, Amanda began playing with the NorthWest Sports at age 3; Chinguacousy Blues at the age of 5 before switching to the Brampton Canadettes at age 7, winning multiple Ontario Provincial Championships. She won the 1992 Citizen’s Award for Sports Achievement from the City of Brampton just before her family moved to Port Moody, BC. In BC, she transitioned back to integrated PeeWee Rep at Port Moody Amateur Hockey Association (PMAHA) and was named the PMAHA Player of the year for the 1993-94 season. She then moved to Senior AAA Women’s hockey with the Killarney Knights as a 13-year-old in an 18+ division, earning spots attending multiple Sr. Women’s AAA Canadian National Championships and Hockey Canada camps, including playing with Team BC U18 at the 1999 Canada Winter Games.
Amanda earned a full scholarship to St. Lawrence University, where she and her team advanced to the Innagural NCAA Div. 1 Frozen Four Tournament in 2001. Despite a disappointing Championship loss to UMD, Amanda scored two goals and one assist in 3 games, was named to the All-Tournament Team and scored the first goal of the Championship Game. She earned other honours during her time at SLU, including SLU Rookie of the Year 1999-00, being named to the 2001-02 ECAC All-Star team (played Team USA), Lake Placid High Peak Tournament MVP, ECAC All-Academic Team and the SLU leading scorer in 2001, 2002, 2003, ECAC All-Conference Honourable Mention 2002-03, SLU All-Time leading scorer (broke previous record of 135 career points) and in 2017 she was inducted into the St. Lawrence University Hall of Fame with her 2000-01 teammates and coaches. In four years, she played 139 games and tallied 142 points (65 Goals, 77 Assists).
After finishing her B.Sc. in Psychology and Sports Exercise Sciences, minoring in Education, Amanda chose to stay at SLU to focus on her education and complete her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership. She then taught high school in New Hampshire before moving back to British Columbia. She continues her career as an educator, teaching K-12 mainly as a Special Education teacher.
Amanda started coaching minor hockey with the Tri-City Female Ice Hockey Association (TCFIHA) as a Head Coach in 2016 and was named Coach of the Year in 2017. She has coached U7, U9, and U11 as Head coach and was elected to the Board of Directors for the 2020-21 season. She currently serves on the Coaching Committee for TCFIHA and represents TCFIHA on the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association (PCAHA) Female Development Sub Committee. Amanda also has been a Head Coach with the Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) since 2018, coaching H1, H2, and H3 teams. During Spring hockey Amanda has coached two spring elite development programs, the BC Prospects and BC Jr. Steelers, since 2018 and has also coached numerous development programs, including Canucks Learn to Play.
Amanda Long
Video Coach | Milwaukee Admirals
Amanda Long is in her first season as the Video Coach for the Admirals and is the first female to hold a position in the team’s hockey operations department. In her role, she is responsible for all video aspects for the coaching staff, including preparing pre-scouts of all opponents, in-game situational live-tagging, post-game reports and compiling individual shifts for all players.
Prior to joining the Admirals, Long spent six seasons at Minnesota State University where she served as the Director of Hockey Operations/Video Coordinator for the Women’s Hockey Program.
Tessa Lowry
Assistant Coach | SAIT Trojans Women's Hockey
Tessa Lowry is currently an assistant coach for the SAIT Trojans Women’s Hockey Team in the ACAC league. She is also pursuing a Masters degree in Counselling Psychology. Tessa played NCAA DIII hockey for four years while obtaining an Elementary Education degree from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota.
She found a passion for coaching while in high school as she coached with her school’s spring hockey program. During her time at the Edge School she had the opportunity to volunteer with a program called Heros Hockey. Heros Hockey provides at risk children and youth with a free hockey program with the goal of creating a safe environment for growth and learning. After College Tessa decided to continue coaching with the elite female minor hockey program in Calgary, Alberta. Her passion and excitement for coaching continued to grow and she moved on to work with SAIT. This upcoming season will be her third year on the coaching staff.
Jennifer MacAskill
Head Coach | Manhattanville University Women's Hockey
Jennifer MacAskill currently holds the role of Head Coach of the Manhattanville University Valiants.Prior to her arrival at Manhattanville, MacAskill played NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey at Mercyhurst University from 2014-18, serving as team captain in her senior season. In addition to earning a Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a Minor in Psychology, she helped the Lakers to two College Hockey America Regular Season Championships, two Conference championships, and two NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Championship Tournament appearances.
Following her collegiate career, MacAskill was drafted by the Worcester Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) and played one season of Professional hockey while serving as the Assistant Coach at Manhattanville University. She graduated from Manhattanville with a Master of Science in Sports Business Management, prior to accepting the job as the Head Coach.
Jennifer is in her sixth year as the Head Coach of the Valiants, where the team has made two Conference Championship appearances and four Conference Semifinal appearances during her tenure thus far. She continues to help out local youth programs and skill development clinics in the area.
Lindsay Macy
Head Coach | College of Saint Benedict
Now entering her fourth season at CSB Hockey, she has quickly established herself as the winningest coach in program history. Under her leadership, the program has reached the playoffs in two of just three appearances in school history, including one of the top four winningest seasons the program has ever seen. Her commitment to player development has also resulted in coaching two All-MIAC selections.
Prior to CSB, she spent one season at Finlandia University, where she was honored as the NCHA Coach of the Year—an early testament to her leadership and impact behind the bench.
Before transitioning fully into the collegiate ranks, she spent three years building and leading the girls’ program at Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy, laying a strong foundation for athlete development and program growth. She is also the owner of Relentless Hockey, where she trains athletes ranging from youth players to professionals, focusing on skill development, mindset, and performance excellence.
A former high-level player herself, she competed for two seasons at Minnesota State University, Mankato after beginning her collegiate career with two seasons at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She also represented the United States on the U-22 National Team.
Born and raised in Owatonna, Minnesota, her passion for the game, competitive drive, and commitment to developing athletes continue to shape her coaching philosophy and success at every level.
Alicia MacDonald
Head Coach CWG | Team NL
Alicia MacDonald (she/her) is an accomplished high-performance hockey coach with over 25 years of experience behind the bench. Currently the Head Coach of Team NL’s Canada Winter Games 2027 team, she has apprenticed with an ECHL team (2022-2023) and in 2024, she was selected as a mentee coach at the AHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition in San Jose.
Alicia was the Head Coach at Nationals of Team Atlantic (2024) and has been a key part of Team HNS and HNL’s coaching staff, including at the Canada Winter Games in 2011, 2023, and many Atlantic Challenge Cups (2004-present).
A recipient of Hockey Canada’s Female Coach of the Year (BFL), Alicia is in her fifth season with the NHLCA Female Coach Development Program. In addition to her bench roles, she is a trained Hockey Canada Skills Instructor, Skill Development Coach with Hockey NL, a former scout for the Maritime Hockey League, and is proficient in video and analytics platforms.
She held a Master’s degree in Nursing (NP), is a registered Massage Therapist, and is a passionate advocate for physical literacy and inclusive sport. Alicia serves as the Physical Literacy for Communities mentor in her region. Originally from Truro, Nova Scotia, Alicia now resides in Port Rexton, Newfoundland and Labrador, where she co-owns and operates a rural microbrewery while continuing to lead, teach, and inspire in the hockey community.
Autumn MacDougall
Assistant Coach: Appleby College | Owner and Skills Coach: Peak Performance Female Hockey
Autumn MacDougall is from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and is passionate about growing the women’s game through coaching and player development. She played five seasons with the University of Alberta Pandas, winning a U Sports National Championship, before competing professionally in the PHF and Sweden’s SDHL. Autumn is the founder of Peak Performance Female Hockey, a program that provides elite on-ice instruction, mentorship, and off-ice training to young female athletes in Nova Scotia during the off-season. During the season, she serves as an assistant coach for Appleby College and also serves as a skills/power skating coach for several organizations in Toronto, helping players develop their game while building confidence and a love for hockey.
Amy Maitre
Assistant Coach | University of Windsor Women's Hockey
Amy Maitre is the assistant coach of the University of Windsor Women’s Hockey team and a player development coach at Prospects Athletics. She played for the University of Windsor Women’s Hockey program from 2016-2021, where she earned a Bachelors of Human Kinetics – Movement Science. Maitre has remained with the program since and is entering her first season as an assistant coach where she looks to use her own student-athlete experience to support their current athletes along their university careers.
In Amy’s role at Prospects Athletics, she works with a variety of skill levels from beginners to university athletes. Amy works with athletes ranging from 3 years old to adults both just learning how to skate and looking to develop their skills. This has allowed her a greater understanding of communicating and teaching skills at an appropriate level. With her role at the University of Windsor, Maitre helps with the team’s community involvement where they seek to improve the women’s hockey game and serve as positive role models for young female hockey players. Being from the Windsor area, supporting the ongoing development of female hockey in the area is something she is passionate about.
Taylor Maschmeyer
Associate Coach | University of New Brunswick Women's Hockey
Taylor Maschmeyer joined the REDS’ coaching staff on July 10th, 2024.
The Oromocto native and two-time Atlantic University Sport Most Sportsmanlike Player, Maschmeyer (then Taylor Dale) helped the STFX X-Women to AUS titles in 2013 and 2015 and a bronze medal at the 2013 U SPORTS championship tournament. She was named to the AUS All-Rookie team in 2013, and earned the league’s Most Sportsmanlike Player award in 2015 and 2016. She captained the X-Women during her final two seasons.
As a coach, she fashioned an impressive resume while leading the girls’ program at Oromocto High School, the 2024 Hornets of Champions Hockey, and Hockey New Brunswick’s 2023 U16 team. She also served as an assistant with various teams including HNB’s 2023 U18 Canada Games team. Maschmeyer has undertaken significant coaching training, earning certification in numerous areas, including high performance, safe sport, respect in sport, managing conflict, and ethical decisions.
Amelia Matheson
Associate Coach | Newcastle Northstars
Amelia Matheson joined the Newcastle Northstars coaching staff in 2020, and is thriving in her first complete Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) season, making her the first woman to reach this achievement. Matheson began her coaching career in 2008 after being inspired by another female icon in Australian ice hockey, Dawn Watt. Prior to reaching the AIHL, Matheson broke ground coaching the NSW State Team in the Browns tournament. Matheson’s coaching career now spans 14 years, and has experienced many a challenge behind the bench.
Kim McCullough
Director | Total Female Hockey & Director of Coach & Player Development | Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association
Kim McCullough is the Director & Founder of Total Female Hockey. For the past 20 years, I’ve been empowering coaches, players, parents, teams and associations with the tools, information and inspiration they need to take their game to the next level on and off the ice. I pride myself in creating great experiences with every group I have the privilege of working with by making things easy to understand and easy to use, while simultaneously encouraging people to push outside of their comfort zone and challenge themselves so that they can reach new heights in their performance.
– Founded Total Female Hockey back in 2008 after a 6 year professional hockey career and 4 years of playing NCAA D1 Hockey at Dartmouth (captain and leading scorer)
– 20+ years experience as a bench coach, on-ice skills instructor & off-ice strength and conditioning coach
– 15 years experience as a coach educator/developer with Hockey Canada and dozens of hockey organizations across North America
– Hockey Canada High Performance 1 & 2 and Certified Skills Instructor
– Currently Head Coach of Team Iceland’s Under 18 Women’s National Team & Assistant on their Senior National Team
– Director of Coach & Player Development for Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association (the largest girls hockey association in the world)
– And most importantly, Head Coach of two Under 9 Competitive teams for my daughters at Toronto Leaside (as well as a proud mom of a non-hockey playing son)
Jodi McKenna
Head Coach | Wesleyan University
Jodi is entering her 16th season as head coach at Division III Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where she also serves as a strength and conditioning coach.
Prior to Wesleyan she spent 9 years as an assistant coach at Division I St. Lawrence University. In that time, St. Lawrence made three Frozen Four appearances, including finishing as runners-up in the inaugural NCAA-sponsored championship in Duluth, MN in 2001.
In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Jodi has been in the coaching pool with the US National Teams. In 2008 she started with the National Team evaluation camps, was an assistant coach with the 2009 National and 2010 Olympic Teams, and served as head coach of the 2011 U18 National Team.
Jodi was a 4-year letter winner as a defenseman at Brown University, playing in the final of the inaugural AHCA-sponsored National Championship game her senior season in 1998.
Marlie McLaughlin
Assistant Coach | Toronto Leaside Jr. U22 Elite
Marlie is originally from Ottawa where she played her minor hockey career before moving to Toronto for university followed by 5 years of coaching experience. Marlie began at the University of Toronto in 2019 playing five years with the Varsity Blues, two as an Assistant Captain. Not too long after Marlie stepped into the world of coaching joining the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association as an Assistant Coach with the U15 AA team for 3 years. Marlie then coached with the Etobicoke Dolphins Hockey Association for 2 years at the U18 AA level and has recently returned to Leaside as an Assistant Coach with the Leaside Jr. Wildcats U22 Elite. Marlie’s specialty is working with defense and is passionate about everything that relates to seeing the game from the eyes of a defenseman.
In addition to coaching Marlie currently works on the corporate side of the hockey world with Molson Coors specializing in sponsorship and strategy with NHL properties.
Dollee Meigs
Associate Coach | University of Waterloo Women’s Hockey
Dollee Meigs enters her fourth season as Associate Coach of the Women’s Hockey program. Meigs joined the Warriors as a student-athlete in 2017-18, taking the Recreation and Sports Business program while finishing her final year of eligibility as a Warrior during the 2018-19 season.
Since coming over to join the Warriors Meigs has taken her path to become a coach very serious putting in time to earn her coaching certifications and learn coaching tactics from Coach Reagan. Meigs has worked with the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) coaching the highest achieving young female hockey players in Ontario at the Team Ontario Identification and Selection Camps for both U18 and U16 levels. She has also coached at competitions including two Summer Games and at the 2019 Nationals, where Team Ontario were National Champions.
Through this development Meigs was accepted and is going into her third year as a member of the NHLCA Female Coaches Development Program. This program consists of around 50 Female Coaches across North America. The purpose is to develop coaching, build a network and to give the group exposure to hockey and coaching at the NHL and AHL levels.
Amanda Michaud
Head Coach | Jacksonville Lunas Girls Hockey Club
Amanda Michaud is head coach of the Jacksonville Lunas Hockey Club, the first and only all-girls hockey program in Northeast Florida. Amanda played a large role in developing and growing the program prior to its inaugural season 2023-24. Prior to the Lunas, Amanda was head coach and on-ice skills coach for the Jacksonville Jr Icemen organization as well as Learn to Play and Learn to Skate programs. Prior to coming to Florida, she was an assistant coach and on-ice skills/development coach for the Arizona Kachinas, Small Frys, and Little Howlers programs in Scottsdale, Arizona and surrounding areas.
Born and raised in Lewiston, Maine she played youth hockey with Casco Bay Hockey Club before eventually playing varsity hockey for Lewiston High School Lady Blue Devils. Amanda received undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Neuroscience at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA, where she played NCAA DIII Softball and Club Ice Hockey. Her coaching career began while attending graduate school at Midwestern University/Arizona College of Health Sciences in Glendale, Arizona. Amanda also earned her doctorate degree in 2022. In addition to coaching, she has practiced medicine as a physician associate in allergy and clinical immunology for the last 12 years. Within her specialty, she holds numerous leadership and board positions and is an invited speaker at national and regional conferences.
Amanda is especially passionate about making the game of hockey more accessible for girls everywhere.
Kelly Nash
Head Coach | Long Island University Women's Hockey
Kelly Nash is the 2024 NEWHA Coach of the Year.
Nash has guided the Sharks to the conference’s regular-season title each of her first two seasons as LIU’s coach as well as to the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in her inaugural season in 2022-23.
A two-time national champion during her collegiate playing career, and with extensive experience coaching at the pro and college levels, Nash joined LIU Athletics as women’s ice hockey head coach in June 2022.
She arrived from the Premier Hockey Federation’s Metropolitan Riveters, where she served as associate head coach and head scout during the 2021-22 season.
Nash previously played with the Riveters, including on their Isobel Cup championship-winning team in 2018.
She spent a combined six seasons as an assistant coach at the collegiate level. Her focus at Vermont (2013-17) and Princeton (2017-19) centered on player development, recruiting, practice planning, and video analysis and scouting.
During her collegiate playing career, Nash produced 22 goals and 47 assists in 153 career games with the Wisconsin Badgers spanning four seasons. She earned the team’s Jeff Sauer Award as the “most dedicated player” as a senior and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Nash worked with LeagueApps, a youth-sports management platform, in addition to her duties with the Riveters immediately before joining LIU. Her responsibilities included managing the company’s partnership with the NHL, particularly the league’s “Learn to Play” and “Breaking the Ice” initiatives.
Makenna Newkirk
Associate Head Coach | Penn State University
Newkirk brings several great intangibles to the Penn State program and was recently promoted to Associate Head Coach in July of 2025. Newkirk has played an instrumental role in the development of players which led to a third straight AHA tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance a season ago. During her first three years at Penn State, she helped produce two AHA Players of the Year in Tessa Janecke (2023-24 and 2024-25) and Kiara Zanon (2022-23), while also leading Janecke to AHA Forward of the Year honors in 2023-24 and 2024-25 as well as her CHA Rookie of the Year award in 2022-23. Most recently, Newkirk has developed three Nittany Lions who all made their Olympic debuts for their respective countries in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina – Tessa Janecke (USA), Nicole Hall (Sweden), Matilde Fantin (Italy).
Over the past three seasons, Newkirk has elevated the Penn State offense in all facets. The Nittany Lions have scored at least 121 goals in every season Newkirk has been on the coaching staff, including a nation’s sixth best in 135 a season ago. That mark ranks second in program history behind the 140 goals scored during the 2022-23 campaign. The team’s 214 assists last season were another feat only bested by the 2022-23 team’s 237.
On the power play, Penn State scored 24 goals in 2024-25, tied for the third most in program history and the eighth most in the country. The Nittany Lions were unphased playing down a woman. The team scored nine shorthanded goals, including four by junior Maddy Christian. Both marks led the country.
A former Boston College team captain and star student-athlete, Newkirk joined the Nittany Lions after spending the 2021-22 season with Brown women’s hockey in the ECAC where she had a positive impact behind the bench for the Bears. Brown finished the campaign with their best overall record in the last five seasons, including their most wins in ECAC play since 2008-09 and highest finish in the ECAC standings in a decade.
Charice Paoli
Hockey Director | The Winter Club
Charice is serving as an assistant hockey director in Lake Forest, Illinois, an area she fondly considers home, as she spent her high school and collegiate careers there. She provides coaching and technical support across the club’s hockey and skating programs, specializing in skill development and personalized training for youth and adult players.
Her K-12 teaching degree has supported her passion for coaching at all levels for the last 15 years, and she also coaches in high school field hockey and softball programs during the hockey off-seasons. She has worked closely with the Chicago Blackhawks for several years as a grassroots growth specialist by overseeing learn to play initiatives and events that continue to grow the game.
Katelyn Parker
Player Development | Seattle Kraken
A native of Bellingham, Wash., Katelyn Parker is returning to her home state after spending the last three seasons coaching for the Division I NCAA University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies Women’s Hockey program. Parker helped guide the Huskies to playoff appearances in all three years including the Hockey East finals and Semifinals the past two seasons. Prior to joining the Huskies, she coached two seasons as an assistant at Brown University.
Before becoming a collegiate coach, Parker was a member of the Colgate Raiders women’s hockey team, where she served as the team’s captain.
In addition to her duties with the Kraken, Parker serves as the Girls’ Hockey Ambassador for the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association (PNAHA).
Kelly Paton
Head Coach & Manager of Hockey Operations | Wilfrid Laurier University Women's Hockey
Kelly Paton is the Manager of Women’s Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. Kelly oversees all aspects of the women’s hockey program, including team management, strategic planning, recruitment and player development. Under Kelly’s leadership, the Golden Hawks have seen significant improvements in both team performance, team culture and player growth.
Kelly has over 12 years of coaching experience across a range of sport ages; from U22 high performance to University (NCAA & USports) to NHL development camps. Kelly has been in involved with three USports Team Canada FISU teams (2017, 2023, and 2025) and holds multiple skill certifications with Hockey Canada. With a reputation of dedication, strategic insight, and a genuine passion for the sport, Kelly is highly regarded in the hockey community.
Shelley Payne
Owner & Director | Elite Concepts Goalie Training
Shelley is currently an Associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP and the owner and director of Elite Concepts Goalie Training, offering individualized goalie training across North America. Previous recent coaching roles include Assistant Coach and Goaltending Coach for the University at Buffalo men’s ACHA DI program and Goaltending Coach for the Hilbert College women’s NCAA DIII program. Prior professional experience includes playing in North America and Europe and coaching at the U18 AAA level. USAH Level 4 coach. Shelley played her college hockey at Colby College and holds a Master of Sports Leadership from Northeastern University.
While coaching at the University at Buffalo, Shelley scouted and evaluated talent across New York and Ontario and remains connected with the junior hockey landscape.
Amanda Pelkey
Skill Development Coach & Owner/Founder | AMP Hockey
College & Professional:
In 2011 Amanda started her career at the University of Vermont. She left her career holding the most goals, assists and points in UVM’s history and captained the team in her last two years. Once she graduated, she moved to Boston to train and play for the Boston Pride in the NWHL. On June 22, 2015, Pelkey became the first player ever to sign with the Boston Pride, signing prior to the 2015-16 inaugural NWHL season. She played for the Boston Pride for three years with a gap year for the 2018 Olympics. She has played the last three seasons in the PWHPA. Amanda will return back to the PHF to further her professional career with the Metropolitan Riveters for the 2022-2023 season.
Team USA
Amanda’s USA Hockey career began when she was 15 years old. She won two gold medals and one silver with the U-18 National Team. Pelkey made her first women’s roster in 2015 for the Four Nation’s Tournament. Since then, she made every roster moving forward up to the 2018 Winter Olympics including two gold medals in the IIHF World Championships in 2016 and 2017. Amanda is a 2018 Olympic Gold medalist.
Coaching Career:
Amanda is the founder and director of AMP Hockey which is a developmental program for athletes established in 2018. Her hockey camps are spread throughout the United States in various locations including Texas, Vermont, North Carolina and Colorado. Amanda has also coached at the Junior girls level from 2016-2022 serving as both a head coach and assistant coach. She has evaluated for USA Hockey’s Under 18 National Team along with New England Development camps. Most recently she was the skill development coach for the the Okanagan Hockey Academy and the Penticton Minor Hockey Association in British Columbia, Canada.
Shelly Picard
Assistant Coach | Long Island University Women's Hockey
Michelle (Shelly) Picard joined the coaching staff for Princeton University Women’s Hockey team for the 2021-2022 season.
Prior to joining Princeton’s coaching staff, the former NWHL All-Star was named Deputy Commissioner/Director of Player Development for the National Women’s Hockey League in December 2019. In her role, Picard’s responsibilities included player development, free agency, game and event schedules, grassroots programs, and building on the league’s relationships with national governing bodies and collegiate hockey programs.
Picard was also the Director of Girls’ Hockey with the New Jersey Colonials and is a volunteer coach with Hockey in New Jersey, which provides children the opportunity to play hockey for free.
With the U.S. National program, Picard was a member of Team USA that captured silver at the 2014 Olympics and won gold in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019 at the World Championships. Picard was a team captain as a junior and senior at Harvard. In her senior season, she was named All-Ivy League first team and was an ECAC defender of the year finalist.
She played three seasons in the NWHL with the Riveters, winning the Isobel Cup in 2018 and serving as team captain in 2018-19. She was also the captain of Team NWHL – a collection of top players who played the U.S. Olympic Team in two exhibition games in 2018 – and a recipient of the NWHL Foundation Award for her work in hockey at the grass-roots level.
Edith Racine
Associate Coach | Cornell University Women's Hockey
Edith Racine, a native of St-Albert, Ontario, Canada, enters her 16th season as a member of the Cornell coaching staff. Her dedication and expertise have been instrumental in shaping the Big Red’s success, earning her a promotion to Associate Head Coach prior to the 2018-19 season, after a decade of service as an assistant coach.
In her role at Cornell, Racine serves as the recruiting coordinator and is primarily responsible for developing goaltenders, defensemen, and overseeing the penalty kill. During her time on East Hill, Cornell has captured nine Ivy League titles, seven ECAC Hockey regular season championships, and five ECAC tournament titles. Her tenure has also seen the Big Red flourish on the national stage, including five Frozen Four appearances (2010, 2011, 2012, 2019, 2025), a trip to the NCAA national championship game in 2010, and a No. 1 national ranking in 2020 before the NCAA tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beyond team accolades, Racine has played a pivotal role in the development of numerous elite student-athletes, guiding them to all-league and All-America selections. She notably mentored Izzy Daniel, the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Award recipient, recognizing the nation’s top women’s collegiate player. In acknowledgment of her accomplishments, Racine was honored as the 2024 AHCA Assistant Coach of the Year.
Before joining the Big Red, Racine spent two seasons coaching at Brown University under the legendary Digit Murphy. As a student-athlete, she was a standout goaltender at Elmira College, where she earned a business degree while leading her team to two national titles and receiving All-America honors twice.
Alex Rajsigl
Goaltending Coach & Off-Ice Trainer | Prospects Goaltending & Athletics
Alex recently finished her playing career where she split her time between Plymouth State University in the NCAA and the University of Regina within U Sports. She graduated with a bachelors of Kinesiology with a Human Kinetics major in the spring of 2022.
Growing up in Windsor, Ontario she has been coaching with Prospects Goaltending & Athletics since she was 16 years of age and more recently other goaltending and player development programs in Saskatchewan. While in university she found a love for coaching, where she was fortunate enough to be an Assistant Coach of the U13 and U15 Regina Rebels teams as well as the Regina Colts program.
Since graduating she has been the goaltending coach for a A21 Prep Academy as well as instructing goaltenders on-ice and training athletes and teams off-ice at Prospects.
Michelle Roach
Head Coach | Arlington Catholic Girls Hockey
Michelle Roach is the head coach of the Arlington Catholic girls’ hockey program and brings more than 16 years of coaching experience to the bench. Before joining Arlington Catholic, she built the Peabody High School girls’ varsity team into a perennial Division I power, compiling a 139–59–13 record and winning five Northeastern Conference championships. During her tenure at Peabody, she was named Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Coach of the Year.
A graduate of St. Michael’s College, where she played women’s hockey, Roach was also a captain of the inaugural girls’ varsity team at St. Mary’s of Lynn, becoming the first player in program history to compete at the collegiate level. She later returned to St. Mary’s as an assistant coach for five seasons, contributing to three state championships and a 101-game unbeaten streak.
In 2025, Roach was awarded the USA Hockey Level 5 Coaching Symposium Scholarship. Off the ice, she serves as Human Resources Director for Reading Public Schools. She also holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and is pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Caroyln Ross
Assistant Coach | University of Minnesota Women's Hockey
Carolyn Ross is in her second season as an Assistant Coach for the University of Minnesota Women’s ACHA Hockey Team. She specializes in coaching the defensemen and penalty kill, and established a data analytics system to track key player and team metrics and guide strategic decisions. Ross also contributes to program marketing and supports recruiting efforts, particularly in the western region.
Before joining Minnesota, Ross was an Assistant Coach at Northeastern University. Her leadership as the Defense Coach led to a runner-up finish at the 2023 ACHA National Championship. Ross has also been involved in national-level coaching, including her role as a USA Hockey Intern Coach at the 2024 Girls Player Development Camp and her selection as a USA Hockey Coach Developer starting in summer 2024.
Ross earned a BA in Neuroscience from Boston University in 2014 and an MS in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University in 2023. She served as a nuclear officer in the U.S. Navy for six years, including two deployments, and brings a unique perspective from her decade of experience in corporate engineering management and military leadership. Inspired by Rod Brind’Amour’s philosophy of authenticity, hard work, and positivity, she integrates these principles into her coaching, focusing on integrity, hustle, and serving others. As a former player, Ross competed at the 19U Girls Tier 1 level and proudly represented the U.S. Navy in the 2018 Army-Navy hockey game.
Meredith Roth
Associate Head Coach | Harvard Women's Hockey
Roth joins the Crimson staff after a four-year tenure as the associate head coach at the College of the Holy Cross. Prior to her time in Worcester, Roth was the head coach at St. Norbert College, a DIII school in Wisconsin. With her at the helm, the Green Knights enjoyed great success, playing their way into the NCHA Championship game in 2016.
Previously, Roth coaches at Providence College in two stints from 2006-10 and 2012-15. In between her time with the Friars, Roth was on staff at Cornell University, and helped the Big Red reach the Frozen Four twice from 2010-2012. Roth’s first head coaching job came in 2004 when she was appointed the leader of the Shattuck St. Mary’s School U-16 team.
In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Roth has been heavily involved in USA Hockey, in particular its U-18 program. She was recently named as an assistant coach for the United States U-18 Women’s National Team for its 2023-24 season and will coach the group at the 2024 IIHF World Championships in Switzerland. Roth was also with the group during its Gold medal run in the 2020 IIHF World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. She has been integral in the success of the U-18 program since coaching at her first camp in 2006.
A talented skater herself, Roth was a four-year member of the Providence Friars women’s ice hockey team and was a two-time captain. In her four years, the Friars captured three conference championships, one in the ECAC (2002) and two in the Hockey East (2003, 04).
Roth graduated from Providence in 2004 with a degree in social science before going back to school at the State University of New York – Cortland, where she earned a master’s degree in sports management.
In addition to her formal education, Roth was also recently selected to attend a Diversity and Inclusion Scouting Mentorship Program, hosted by the Boston Bruins, during the 2021-22 season. During the nine-month program, she worked on developing skills in management, scouting, talent identification and decision-making at the National Hockey League (NHL) level. Throughout the course of the program, she worked closely with contacts from the Bruins front office and regularly attended American Hockey League (AHL) and NHL games as a scout.
Melanie Ruzzi
Head Coach | Brown University Women's Hockey
Melanie Ruzzi is in her second season at the helm of the Bears, after being named head coach of the Brown women’s hockey program on May 20, 2021.
In her first year as a collegiate head coach in 2021-22, Ruzzi guided the Bears to their best overall record in five years, and their most ECAC wins since the 2008-09 season, giving them their highest finish in the ECAC standings in a decade. The team went unbeaten in seven of its final nine games, which included a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents in No. 9 Quinnipiac and No. 7 Yale, an eventual national semifinalist. Brown’s turnaround in 2021-22 also saw the team score 0.7 more goals per game and allow exactly one fewer goal per game from the previous season.
Her efforts earned her the honor of being one of three finalists for the ECAC Coach of the Year award.
Ruzzi came to College Hill after a successful two-year stint as an assistant coach at Princeton. In her time with the Tigers, Princeton set a program record with 26 wins, reached the ECAC tournament final for the first time and won the ECAC tournament title for the first time in 2019-20. Princeton finished the season with three players ranked in the top 12 in the nation in goals and points per game. The ECAC recognized Princeton’s success with both Carly Bullock and Sarah Fillier as Best Forward top-three finalists, with Fillier additionally a top-three finalist for Player of the Year. The team qualified for the NCAA quarterfinals, but the event was canceled by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 virus.
Ruzzi began her coaching career at Division III Amherst College in 2005, where she acted as an assistant coach for two seasons. From 2007-11 she was an assistant coach at Harvard before returning to her alma mater Providence College for six years as associate head coach. She then spent one season as an assistant at Yale during the 2018-19 season.
Ruzzi was critical to the turn-around of the Friars program that saw the program return to the national rankings and be one of the most competitive teams in Hockey East. She helped transform the defense from 136 goals allowed to 80 in just two seasons, while also improving the penalty kill from 78.1 percent to 87.1 percent – eighth best in the nation in her final year with Providence College (2017-18). In addition, she coached defender, Whitney Dove, to the Hockey East Rookie of the Year award in 2017.
Her involvement in hockey exceeds the collegiate ranks. She has been involved with USA Hockey since 2006, and served as an assistant coach for the Team USA U18 National Team that won the silver medal at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships. In addition, Ruzzi has held various roles at National Development and District Camps, including as Director of the Rocky Mountain and Pacific District Development Programs.
A 2003 graduate of Providence College with a degree in finance, Ruzzi was team captain in 2002-03 and captured Hockey East Honorable Mention honors as well as national all-academic accolades. One of the most successful defensemen in program history, she helped the Friars to the ECAC Eastern title as a junior and the inaugural Hockey East title in 2003. She later earned a master’s in sports management from UMass in 2007.
Melissa Samoskevich
Assistant Coach | University of Delaware Women's Hockey
Melissa Samoskevich, an IIHF World Champion with Team USA, joined the University of Delaware ice hockey program as its first-ever assistant coach in July of 2024.
Samoskevich arrives in Newark after spending the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach at Princeton. She aided the Tigers to a 14-12-6 record and an appearance in the ECAC Championship quarterfinals. With the Tigers, she assisted with video analysis, practice planning, drill implementation, special teams, and game management.
In the 2022-23 season, Samoskevich finished her third year on a collegiate staff, serving as the director of player development and operations at her alma mater, Quinnipiac. The Bobcats went 30-10 in Samoskevich’s season on the bench, making the ECAC Hockey semifinals and earning an at-large NCAA tournament bid on the way to making the regional final.
Samoskevich spent the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons at Penn State with Coomey, helping the Nittany Lions to an overall record of 34-13-7 and 24-5-5 in College Hockey America over those two years.
Following her final season at Quinnipiac, Samoskevich was named to the U.S. team for the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Finland, playing in all seven games as the Americans put together an undefeated run to win the gold medal for the fifth-consecutive tournament. Samoskevich had two goals during the pool-play round, one each against Finland and Russia.
The 2019 IIHF Worlds were just the most recent time Samoskevich was called to wear the red, white, and blue, having represented Team USA at a pair of U18 Women’s World Championships. In 2014 in Hungary, Samoskevich had a pair of helpers during the pool-play round as the U.S. won silver, and in 2015 in Buffalo, the U.S. won gold with Samoskevich having a six-goal tournament including a hat trick against Russia to close an unbeaten run through pool play and two goals in a semifinal win over the Czech Republic.
After graduating from Quinnipiac in 2019 with a history degree, Samoskevich began her professional career by playing part of the 2019-20 season professionally in Sweden with Brynäs IF. Later that season, she returned to the U.S. to play first with the PWHPA’s New England team and then with her home-state Connecticut Whale in the NWHL/PHF. Samoskevich has continued her tenure with the Whale through the team’s most recent season, which wrapped in March 2023.
During her undergraduate career at Quinnipiac, Samoskevich scored 54 goals, good enough to graduate third in program history, and 55 assists, for fifth on the Bobcats’ list, for 109 points, fourth-most in program history. Samoskevich was an ECAC Hockey All-Rookie honoree in 2016 while helping the Bobcats to the ECAC tournament title.
A Sandy Hook, Connecticut native, Samoskevich, who prepped at Shattuck St. Mary’s before playing at Quinnipiac, is the oldest of three hockey-playing siblings. Sister Maddy is in the Quinnipiac hockey class of 2024, and brother Mackie, selected 24th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, helped Michigan to the Frozen Four in 2022 and 2023 before beginning his professional career in the Panthers’ organization in the spring of 2023.
Harper Sanderson
Head Coach | Noble and Greenough School
Harper is from Minnetonka, Minnesota. She is currently the Head Coach of the middle school team for the Noble and Greenough School. She started her coaching career as a student coach for the Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association in Minnesota.
She was a member of the Montclair State University Women’s Ice Hockey Team from 2015 to 2018. While on the MSU team, she assisted in winning the DVCHC, and her team made it to the national championships for the first time in program history.
In 2019, Harper started to work with the New York Rangers youth programs. Here she was a head coach for the newly formed all-girls league. As well as a coach for the Learn to Play and Rookie League programs.
In 2021, she started coaching with the Peabody Youth Hockey Association as an assistant coach for their Squirt B team. In 2023, she took over as the head coach for the Park School. In 2024, she joined the Nobles team as the Co-Head Coach of the Middle School team. She is also working with the Cambridge Youth Hockey Association, coaching their U10 and Squirt 3 teams. In her time off the ice, she works with 3d Lacrosse and enjoys reading, baking, and exploring Boston.
Madison Scheinberg
Varsity Hockey Coach & Health and Wellness Coordinator | Notre Dame Academy
Madison Scheinberg, M.S. is a rising leader in hockey coaching and sport mental performance, driven by a mission to develop athletes who are not only skilled competitors, but confident, resilient, and grounded individuals. She currently serves as Health & Wellness Coordinator and Varsity Girls’ Ice Hockey Coach at Notre Dame Academy (MA), where she integrates elite-level technical coaching with proactive mental performance strategies to build championship culture on and off the ice.
A former NCAA dual-sport athlete in hockey and golf at Suffolk University, Madison brings firsthand experience in high-performance environments to her coaching philosophy. Her work extends beyond systems and skill development — she is deeply committed to strengthening athlete identity, protecting athlete mental health, and empowering young women to lead with confidence in sport and in life.
Madison holds a Master’s degree in Sport Psychology and is the founder of Light State Mental Performance, a consulting practice dedicated to building confidence, resilience, leadership, and emotional regulation in athletes across all levels. Through her innovative Mind & Muscle programming, she combines strength and conditioning with evidence-based mental skills training to create complete athlete development models.
Her coaching background includes leadership roles with Colorado Extreme, RB Hockey, and elite summer development programs, with experience in talent identification, recruitment insight, and cultivating high-trust team environments. Known for her relational leadership style and growth mindset approach, Madison builds teams rooted in accountability, belief, and shared purpose.
Giving back remains central to her mission. Inspired by her father’s journey with multiple myeloma, she actively supports the Dana-Farber Adult Survivorship Program and carries that perspective of empathy, gratitude, and purpose into every athlete relationship.
Madison represents the next generation of hockey leadership, where performance excellence and mental well-being are not separate conversations, but inseparable pillars of success.
Laura Schuler
Head Coach | University of Minnesota Duluth Women's Hockey
Laura Schuler became the third head coach in the 25 year history of one of the most successful programs in all of Division I women’s college hockey on July 10, 2024 after finishing her third consecutive season with the Bulldogs in 2023-24 as an associate head coach. Her return to UMD bench in 2021-22 helped result in an NCAA championship title game appearance and three-straight NCAA Tournament berths for the Bulldogs.
A part of six NCAA Tournament teams at UMD in all, including three NCAA Frozen Fours and an NCAA championship title in 2010, Schuler has spent a total of 10 seasons on the bench of the Bulldogs over her coaching career in Duluth, and helped those 10 UMD teams to a record of 187-105-29. Schuler not only coached all 13 of the Bulldog’s PWHL draft picks over the past two drafts during her time with the UMD program, but has also coached 25 of UMD’s 41 Olympians.
Schuler notably owns an extensive resume of coaching and playing with Hockey Canada, and an international background that has spanned over two decades. Named the head coach of the Canadian National Women’s Hockey team during the 2015-16 season, Schuler was again tabbed for the job over the 2016-17 season. Schuler was then chosen to lead the Canadian Olympic women’s team in the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Schuler and Team Canada went on to face the United States where Canada took home the silver medal in a 3-2 shootout loss.
Additionally, the Scarborough, Ontario native has spent a decade coaching all three of Hockey Canada’s High Performance Programs. She was as an assistant coach with the National Women’s Team in 2010-11 (Four Nations Cup – Gold); a head coach of the U-22 National Development Women’s Team in 2011-12 (Meco Cup – Silver); an assistant of the Canadian U-18 National Team in 2012-13 (Worlds – Gold) and a head coach of the U-18 National Team in 2013-14 (Worlds – Gold).
As a player, Schuler competed for Hockey Canada after her collegiate career at Northeastern. She won three gold medals at the World Championships in 1990, 1992 and 1997, two gold medals at the Pacific Rim Championships in 1995 and 1996 and two gold and a silver at the Three Nations Cup in 1996, 1997 and 1999. She was also a member of the 1998 Canadian Olympic team and won a silver medal at the Winter Games.
Schuler began her coaching career in 2001 as the head coach of UMass Boston and later at her alma mater of Northeastern from 2004-2008. Schuler became an assistant coach for the Bulldogs originally in 2008 and, over seven seasons, helped lead UMD to three NCAA Tournament berths, as well as an NCAA title in 2010. She then spent three seasons at the helm of Dartmouth College (2016-2020), with a one-year sabbatical during her tenure to guide the Canadian Olympic team in the 2018 Olympics.
Schuler graduated cum laude from Northeastern University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
As the third head coach in program history, Schuler notably has the distinction of having served as an assistant coach for multiple seasons under both of the previous head coaches at UMD – most recently Maura Crowell (2015-2023) and Shannon Miller (1999-2015).
Brittany Scott
Coordinator, Hockey Operations | P3 Sports Inc.
Brittany is the Coordinator of Hockey Operations at P3 Sports Inc. in Cochrane, Alberta. She is responsible for the planning and implementation of the skill development program for all of Cochrane Minor Hockey, as well as multiple associations in Calgary. She runs many of our on-ice programs, including our Hockey Academy and Power Skating programs. In the spring and summer, Brittany is in charge of many of our elite programs. These programs include high level prospects, as well as current NCAA and professional athletes.
Brittany played NCAA Division I at Providence College, where she was captain her senior year. She then went on to play at the professional level for the Boston Blades and the Moscow Tornado. She won an IIHF gold medal at the 2014 European Championships. Brittany is passionate about growing the game of hockey and developing players of all ages and skill levels. She is keen to continuously learn and develop herself as a coach.
Jessica Scott
General Manager / Assistant Coach | University of Minnesota
Jessica Scott was promoted to assistant coach in September 2022 after joining the Gopher women’s hockey staff as the program’s director of operations in July 2019.
Scott joined Gopher Athletics after most recently spending three years as the head coach of the girls’ hockey program at Wayzata High School. She was named the Class AA head coach of the year in 2018 and received back-to-back Section 6AA coach of the year honors in 2018 and 2019. She was elected as president of the Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association in February 2014 and served in the role until May 2018. After joining the Gophers, Scott served as the Director of Hockey Operations for the United States’ Silver medal-winning U18 Women’s National Team at the 2022 IIHF World Championships.
Prior to her time with the Trojans, Scott served as the girls’ hockey head coach at her alma mater Coon Rapids High School for five years. Her coaching experience also includes four years as an assistant coach at the University of St. Thomas, her collegiate alma mater.
Scott brings over 15 years of experience in athletic administration to her role at the University of Minnesota. She served as the program director for Minnesota Youth Athletic Services for over seven years where she honed skills in event planning, communication and conflict resolution, marketing, and fundraising. Scott’s high school coaching roles included planning games, practices, travel, meetings, and fundraising; maintaining community involvement with area youth hockey programs and schools; and implementing programs to build and grow youth hockey.
In addition, Scott’s previous experience includes serving as a consultant for Showcase Hockey in St. Louis Park, Minn., where she served as the director for the Dynamo Prep League and was the coach and administrator for U19 teams and tours to Europe. Her experience also includes a stint at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., where she worked in ice sports programming.
A native of Coon Rapids, Minn., Scott graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in sociology in 2004 and added a Master of Education in Sport Management from the University of Minnesota in 2022. She played hockey for the Tommies in 2000-01, where she was All-MIAC and the leading scorer, before suffering a career-ending injury; a two-sport student-athlete, Scott was a three-time All-MIAC and two-time all-region goalkeeper in soccer for UST as well.
Kahlie Singletary
Head Coach | Nashville Jr. Predators U19
Kahlie Singletary is the head coach for the Nashville Jr. Predators U19 team and Assistant Coach for the Father Ryan Boys Varsity team. The 2021-2022 season marks Kahlie’s sixteenth year coaching at the U19 level.
Kahlie’s passion is giving girls an opportunity to train at an elite level while developing female leaders for collegiate hockey and life beyond. Her in-season curriculum goes beyond the x’s and o’s of hockey, implementing leadership and mentorship training programs and a coaching mentorship program. She also serves as the Girls/Women’s Committee chair for the Southern Amateur Hockey Association, covering six states. Her mission is to help programs create more opportunities for girls to participate in the sport. After an unprecedented number of families were leaving the affiliate to play Tier 1 as a means to play college hockey, Kahlie started a team in 2016 with a 7-year strategic plan to allow girls to stay home and achieve their long-term goals. In just six years, eleven seniors have committed to NCAA D1 + D3 programs, and ten have committed to play ACHA.
Along with being a level 4 USA Hockey Coach and Certified Functional Strength Coach, Kahlie holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business. She is pursuing her Master’s degree in Agricultural Leadership and Education.
Kahlie is a native of Farmington, MN, and resides in Lebanon, TN, with her husband, Josh.
Alyssa Sleasman (Gagliardi)
Assistant Coach/Assistant GM | Rochester Jr Americans (NAHL)
Alyssa played NCAA Division I college hockey at Cornell University, where she was a two-year captain and 2014 ECAC Co-Defensive Defensemen of the Year and Second Team All-American. She competed with the USA Women’s National Team from 2013-2016, including at two Four Nations Cups (2014, 2015), while playing professionally for the Boston Blades (CWHL), Boston Pride (NWHL), and Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) from 2014 – 2020.
After completing her playing career, Alyssa worked for the Carolina Hurricanes organization in Youth Hockey Development, as well as coaching in the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Tier I Girls Program, with a focus on Skill & Player Development.
During the 2022-23 season, Alyssa was an assistant coach for the Neumann University Men’s Hockey Team (NCAA DIII), as well as a Skills Coach for the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. She also participated in the Boston Bruins Scouting Mentorship Program during this time.
Alyssa is currently in her 3rd season as Assistant Coach and Assistant GM for the Rochester Jr. Americans of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) where she oversees all Player Development & Scouting.
Annie Smyth-Hammond
Girls Hockey Director | Seattle Junior Hockey Association
Annie Smyth-Hammond grew up in Massachusetts, playing hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, before she was recruited to play hockey at Stevenson University. Annie was a dedicated student-athlete at Stevenson University from 2016-2020. In addition to being a business communications major, Annie captained the Stevenson University Women’s Ice Hockey Team (NCAA) during her junior and senior years. She received the Mustang Award, as well as the American Hockey Coaches Association All-American Scholars award, during her time there.
After graduating from Stevenson University, Annie joined Manhattanville College Women’s Hockey (NCAA) as an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Annie earned her Masters in Education from Manhattanville College. While at Manhattanville, she also coached for ProCrease, assisting in their goalie development programs. Following Manhattanville, Annie returned to her alma mater, Holderness School, to be the Assistant Director of Admissions and the Head Coach of the girls’ varsity hockey team. She also worked as a dorm parent and advisor to students on campus.
Annie is now the Girls Hockey Director at Seattle Junior. She oversees player and coach development for the girls program. She runs weekly development sessions with the rep hockey teams with Youth Hockey Director, Marty Rubin, and goalie director, Mark Sorenson.
In her free time, Annie enjoys hiking, camping, mountain biking, and really anything that gets her outside.
Olivia Soares
Assistant Coach | University of Minnesota Duluth Women's Hockey
Olivia Soares heads into her second season with the Bulldogs as an an assistant coach ahead of the 2025-2026 season. Prior to joining the staff at Minnesota Duluth, Soares was an assistant coach at Union College for two seasons.
Currently a USA Hockey National Development Camp coach for the past four years (2022-25), Soares helped Union College post the most overall and conference wins in a two-year stretch in the program’s Division I history and steer the program to a pair of victories over nationally ranked teams. In 2022-23, Soares had a hand in helping Union to the most wins in a single season at the Division I level (11), and the team had one of its best stretches in the month of November, winning three games in overtime as part of a four-game winning streak and five-game unbeaten streak, both the longest-ever in the program’s Division I history.
“I am thrilled to have Olivia Soares join our coaching staff here at UMD,” said Schuler about Soares. Olivia brings both WCHA playing and high coaching experience to the table, and has a great understanding of what it means to be a high performer. At OSU she was a two-year captain and a part of a growing program that was poised to make a national championship run her senior campaign. Since stepping into the coaching world, her leadership has played a pivotal role in guiding the teams she coached to historical and successful seasons, and I know she will have the same impact at UMD.”
Prior to Union, Soares served as an assistant coach at Colby College during the 2021-22 season, where she helped to lead the Mules to the best season in program history. Colby set a program record for wins with a 16-6-1 record and earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season eighth in the USCHO.comnational rankings.
As a collegiate hockey player, Soares had a successful four-year career at Ohio State University from 2016-20, playing in 142 games for the Buckeyes. Soares was part of OSU’s first-ever NCAA Tournament and Frozen Four Team in 2018, and served as both assistant captain as a junior before becoming a captain as a senior. Soares also led the team to the program’s first Western Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament championship in 2020 before the NCAA Tournament was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree in 2018 and a three-time WCHA All-Academic Team selection, as well as a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Soares graduated from Ohio State in 2020 with a degree in education and earned her master’s degree in sports management from OSU in 2021.
Soares, notably, becomes the first Black coach in the WCHA and is currently the only Black coach in all of Division I women’s hockey.
Emma Sobieck
Assistant Coach | Bemidji State University
Emma (Terres) Sobieck was re-hired as an assistant coach for the Bemidji State Women’s Hockey program prior to the 2024-25 season. She had previously served as assistant coach for the Beavers from 2020-23. During the 2023-24 women’s hockey season, Sobieck served as an assistant coach under head coach Maura Crowell at University of Minnesota Duluth. 2024-25 will mark the fourth season Sobieck has served on the BSU Women’s Hockey coaching staff.
A 2018 graduate from Bemidji State, Sobieck was a member of the Beaver Women’s Hockey program as a student-athlete from 2014-18 and served as team captain for the 2017-18 season. The New Hope, Minn., native played in 146 games for the Beavers in which she skated in 145 consecutive games. During her collegiate career she accumulated 48 points including 21 goals. She established career-high 22 points on a team-best 11 goals and 11 assists during her senior season.
Following her collegiate career, she pursued hockey professionally in Germany as a part of the country’s top women’s hockey league the Deutsche Frauen Eishockey-Liga or DFEL. She first played for ERC Ingolstadt in 2018-19 and was team captain for the Eisbären Juniors Berlin in 2019-20. During her two seasons and 51 games in the DFEL, Sobieck piled up 47 goals and 29 assists for 76 points and led Ingolstadt to the playoffs in 2019.
She has worked as a coach and evaluator for the USA Hockey Development Camp in St. Cloud, Minn. and Miami, OH. There she worked with USA’s top 14- and 15-year-old prospects for the USA Hockey U18 National Team.
Sobieck completed her minor in human performance and earned a coaching certificate from BSU in 2018 and completed her Bachelor of Science in individualized studies at BSU in 2020.
Vicky Sunohara
Head Coach | University of Toronto Women's Hockey
A member of Canada’s national women’s hockey program from 1989-2008, Sunohara became the head coach of U of T’s women’s hockey program in 2011-12 after serving two years as the director of women’s hockey at The Hill Academy in Vaughan, Ont. She was previously an assistant coach with the Blues in 2004-05, as well as a camp coach with Hockey Canada’s under-18 and -19 women’s programs.
Sunohara guided the Blues to the 2019-20 OUA McCaw Cup – the program’s first provincial title since 2002-03. She was named both the OUA and U SPORTS coach of the year that season while also earning OUA female coach of the year honours across all sports.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist served as an assistant captain for seven years with Team Canada before retiring from an international competition in 2008. In addition to the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Winter Olympics, Sunohara has represented Canada in several international ice hockey competitions. In total, she won 15 gold and three silver medals as a member of Canada’s national team, finishing her career with 118 points (56 goals and 62 assists) in 164 games.
Sunohara also served as team captain for ten seasons with the Brampton Canadette-Thunder in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), leading her team to two provincial and one national title.
Sunohara is no stranger to the University of Toronto. After attending Northeastern University on a full athletic scholarship from 1988-90, she played two seasons with the Blues, winning two Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Association (OWIAA) championship titles and earning rookie of the year honours in 1990-91. Following the conclusion of her hockey career, Sunohara returned to U of T and completed her bachelor’s degree in physical health education.
Celine Tardif
Assistant Coach | Carleton University
Celine Tardif is an assistant coach with Carleton University’s women’s hockey team and a former professional and U Sports defenseman. A UBC graduate in Kinesiology, she brings experience from the SDHL and multiple coaching roles across youth and high-performance levels. Celine is passionate about athlete development, team culture, and translating practice into game performance. She is currently pursuing her High Performance 1 certification as she continues to grow her coaching career.
Miriam Thimm
Coordinator & Head Coach U13, Assistant Coach U15 & U17 | Club EV Duisburg (die Füchse)
Miriam Thimm is a highly respected figure in German ice hockey, currently serving as the Coordinator for the U7, U9, and U11 teams at the Duisburger Füchse (EVD). In the 2025/26 season, she will continue in this role while also taking on new responsibilities as Head Coach of the U13 team and Assistant Coach for the U15 and U17 teams.
Miriam also serves as an Ombudsperson in the DEL and DEL2—the top two male elite leagues in Germany—where she is part of an independent arbitration panel addressing cases of racism and sexism.
A former German National Team player, she made history as the first Black woman to represent the national team. Her coaching experience includes head coaching roles with EC Bergkamen and Düsseldorfer EG in the DFEL, Germany’s top women’s league, as well as a position on the coaching staff of the Duisburger Füchse’s professional men’s team.
From 2021 to 2023, she was part of the coaching staff at the DEL Future Camp for U13 and U15 players as a Hockey is Diversity Delegate, and in 2024, she returned to the camp to educate young players on the topic of racism.
In addition to her work in hockey, Miriam is a sport scientist specializing in kinesiology and works as a high school teacher in Germany, where she teaches history, sports, and physical education.
Lindsay Tilley
Skating Coach | Philadelphia Flyers
Lindsay is the owner and founder of Hockey Edge Agility Training based in Morris County, NJ. Her background in figure skating as a USFS triple gold medalist has enabled her to bring correct bio mechanics in skating to hockey players. HEAT is now an all female staffed training company providing quality instruction from stick handling and game application to proper skating technique and agility training. Lindsay was named by The Coaches Site as one of the top 10 skills instructors in 2023. She is also the former skating skills instructor for the Metropolitan Riveters of the PHF and works with a number of Pro, College, and aspiring youth hockey players year round as well as travel club programs. When not on the ice, you can find her cheering on her kids on the sidelines as a soccer and lacrosse mom.
Lindsay is currently working as a consultant with the New York Sirens (PWHL) serving as their Skating Coach. Additionally, she most recently returned from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina serving as a coach with Hockey Without Boarders.
Laura Troy
Head Coach | Choate Rosemary Hall
Laura is entering her second season as the head coach of the girls’ varsity hockey team at Choate Rosemary Hall, a college preparatory boarding school in Connecticut. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Laura provides academic support in the Teaching and Learning Center and works with the Admission office interviewing prospective students and reading applications. Laura also coaches with the Mid-Fairfield CT Stars Girls Youth Hockey Organization.
Prior to Choate, Laura spent seven years working in admissions and coaching at The Winchendon School in MA. She graduated from the Williston Northampton School in 2008 and then went on to play at Division III Hamilton College. She served as team captain and received the scholar-athlete award in her senior year. Laura has a USA Hockey Level 4 coaching certification and has worked at numerous USA Hockey National and District Development Camps. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Management.
Jenna Trubiano
Strategic Advisor | University of Michigan
Jenna Trubiano (New Baltimore, MI) serves as a strategic advisor for the University of Michigan to bring NCAA women’s hockey to the state of Michigan after four seasons as head coach of the Michigan women’s hockey program, leading the Wolverines to back-to-back ACHA National Tournament appearances (2023; 2024). Trubiano served as an assistant coach for two seasons (2018-2019; 2019-2020) with Michigan before being promoted to head coach in 2020. She is a 2017 graduate of the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Health and Fitness. Trubiano is a USA Hockey Level Four certified coach and graduated from Eastern Michigan University in December 2023 with a Master’s in Business Administration. Before four seasons as both a forward and defenseman with the University of Michigan, she played for Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club in the Metro Detroit Area and attended USA Hockey National Player Development Camp (2011; St. Cloud, Minn). In her time with the Wolverines, she averaged 1.02 PPG (47G, 42A in 87 games played). In July 2024, Trubiano was named an assistant coach for Team USA which competed in the 2025 World University Games in Torino, Italy.
Trubiano was elected 2023 CCWHA Coach of the Year by her peers and is actively involved with the annual Michigan Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) and USA Hockey selection events in Michigan.
Jessica Turi
Assistant Coach | York University Men's & Women's Hockey
Jess Turi will be entering her second season as an Assistant Coach with both the Men’s and Women’s Hockey program at York University. Jess joined the University, her alma mater, after winning an Isobel Cup with the Toronto Six of the PHF in their final season. Prior to that Jess spent two seasons with the University of Toronto as the Head Scout and Assistant Coach, capturing the OUA title and becoming McCaw Cup Champions in 2020.
Jess has over ten years of Head Coaching experience at the U22 OWHL Elite level (formerly the PWHL), where she was named ‘Coach of the Year’ in 2014.
Jess has also coached at four National Championships with Team Ontario of the OWHA, winning two gold medals and two silver. and two Canada Winter Games, winning silver and bronze.
Jess holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees and has been a secondary teacher for 15 years.
Ashley Van Aggelen
Head Coach | Winnipeg Avros
Ashley is in her tenth season as the Head Coach of the Winnipeg Avros and her eighteenth season as a head coach in Manitoba. She was also just recognized as the 2019-2020 BFL and Hockey Canada High Performance Coach of the Year for Manitoba. Ashley’s coaching career started after she had finished four years (2000-2004) with the University of Manitoba Bison Women’s Hockey Team .
From there, a passionate and driven Ashley entered the MWJHL (Manitoba Women’s Junior Hockey League) where she was the head coach for the Polar Ice for seven years. After several successful seasons, head coach of many All Star Games and two Provincial Championships with the MWJHL, Ashley made the jump and moved into the Provincial U18 AAA program in Winnipeg. Completing her education degree in 2007, Ashley has also spent time coaching in the WWHSHL (Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League).
Ashley also joined the U18 Team Manitoba staff as an assistant coach for the squad that traveled to Napanee in 2008 (bronze medal) and Halifax for the Canada Games in 2010. Showing her dedication to the female game in Manitoba, Ashley was selected as the Head Coach for the U18 Provincial Team that travelled to Dawson Creek, B.C. in November of 2012 where they captured silver after losing to Team Ontario in the finals. She is also the first coach in Manitoba selected to head coach the U18 Provincial team three times as she was on the bench with the squad at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C. and also competed at the U18 Nationals championships in Quebec City in November of 2017.
It was this commitment to hockey, her own personal successes in sport plus her dedication to her students and time spent coaching High School Athletics (Varsity Basketball, Badminton, Track & Field and Soccer) that won her two nominations for the Manitoba Women of Distinction Award.
Julianne Vasichek
Head Coach | The College of St. Scholastica Women's Hockey
Vasichek enters her fourth season as the Head Coach of the College of St. Scholastica Women’s Hockey program in 2024-2025.
Vasichek has been part of the program for seven years with the last three being the head coach.
The Great Falls, Montana native played defenseman for the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2001-05. She was a member of the 2002 and 2003 National Championship teams. Vasichek earned Second Team All-America accolades in 2004 and 2005 and was part of the 2003-04 U.S. National Team.
She has been assistant women’s hockey coach at NCAA Division III Bowdoin College (Maine) in 2007-08 and was the Strength and Conditioning Coach/Hockey Equipment Manager for the 2010 UMD National Championship team.
Since earning her degree from UMD in Applied Science in 2005, Vasichek has worked as a Strength & Conditioning Coach at a variety of levels including Rochester Mayo HS Boys Hockey Team in 2012-13, for UMD’s Women’s Hockey, Women’s Soccer and Softball teams for five years, the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2011 in Slovakia, the North American Hockey Academy in 2010-11 and Czech Republic Women’s Hockey National Team in 2011.
Vasichek completed her Master’s Degree in Education from UMD in the Spring of 2021 and is currently working on a second Master’s in Exercise Physiology at St. Scholastica. Vasichek also was a member of the Eue Fellows Program last year at St. Scholastica and completed a project exploring transgender inclusion in the NCAA.
Chelsea Walkland
Head Coach | Bishop Kearney High School
- 15 year career coach (1 year U19, 14 years NCAA)
- Assistant Coach, 2025 USA Hockey Collegiate Development Team
- Bishop Kearney Girls U19 Head Coach, 2025 USA Hockey U19 Tier 1 National Champions
- Assistant Coach, 2024 USA Hockey Collegiate Development Team – USA vs Canada
- Series & Gold Medal at IIHF Euro Tour (Tampere, Finland)
- Head Coach, 2023 USA Hockey Collegiate Development Team – Swept Team Canada (3– 0)
- Guest Coach, Buffalo Sabres (2023 & 2024)
- Coached Colgate to 4× ECAC titles and 3× NCAA Final 8 appearances Coached Patty Kazmaier Top 3 Finalist and 2024 PWHL 2nd Overall Pick: Danielle Serdachny
- Selected to NHLCA Female Coaches Development Program (2022–present)
- Coached Robert Morris to 3× CHA titles and NCAA Final 8 appearance Recruited NCAA Rookie of the Year: Jaycee Gebhard
- Assistant Coach, RIT – NCAA Division III National Champion (2012)
A native of Rochester, New York, Walkland graduated from Robert Morris in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. She later earned a Master of Science in instructional leadership at RMU in 2011.
She and her wife, Cobina, reside in Penfield, NY with their sons, Calder, Corson, Callahan, and daughter Campbell.
Tara Watchorn
Head Coach | Boston University
Former Terrier standout and Olympic gold medalist Tara Watchorn ’12 was named the second head coach of the Boston University women’s ice hockey program on April 3, 2023.
The first alumna of the BU women’s program to serve as a Division I head hockey coach, Watchorn played at BU from 2008-12 and went on to serve as an assistant coach for the program for four seasons before being named Stonehill’s first head coach for women’s hockey in 2021. She was recently named the 2022-23 NEWHA Coach of the Year in the Skyhawks’ inaugural season and was a finalist for the ACHA Division I National Coach of the Year.
This past season at Stonehill, Watchorn led the program to a 17-15-2 record while going 14-9-1 in NEWHA action for 29 points, clinching the No. 3 seed in the NEWHA playoffs. The team won its first five NEWHA games and finished first in the nation in shorthanded goals (10) and ninth in power-play goals (21). The Skyhawks reached the NEWHA semifinals after earning an opening-round sweep.
While serving on Durocher’s staff, Watchorn focused on player skill development and the team’s defense. The BU defense twice ranked in the top five nationally in goals-against average under Watchorn while the team’s penalty kill finished fourth in the country in her final season. BU posted a 65-39-18 (.607) record, including a 47-28-14 (.607) mark in Hockey East, over her four seasons and won the 2019 Beanpot Championship.
In addition to her on-ice responsibilities as the first BU alumna to return as a full-time women’s ice hockey assistant coach, Watchorn was instrumental in the Terriers’ student-athlete recruiting efforts, leading the program’s alumni relations activities and mentoring Terrier captains, helping them engage the team in community and equality initiatives.
The pinnacle of Watchorn’s playing career came in 2014 when she and three other Terriers claimed gold with Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. She remains active with Hockey Canada as an assistant coach, most recently winning gold at the 2023 U-18 World Championship.
Watchorn enjoyed an 11-year playing career for Team Canada as a defender, appearing in 46 games in international competition, and earned three IIHF Women’s World Championship silver medals (2011, 2015, 2016) and two gold medals at the 4 Nations Cup (2013, 2014) in addition to the Olympic gold.
A two-time Hockey East and New England All-Star, Watchorn helped vault the Terriers onto the national scene as a student-athlete. She helped lead BU to its first two Hockey East titles (2010, 2012) with her overtime goal in 2010 pushing BU to its first league crown. She played in the NCAA tournament in each of her final three seasons and was a member of the 2010-11 squad that became the first Hockey East team to play in the NCAA championship game. In 127 games on the BU blue line, Watchorn scored 21 goals and added 63 assists for 84 points.
In addition to her collegiate and international successes, Watchorn also shined as a professional for the Boston Blades of the CWHL. She played in two CWHL All-Star Games and was named CWHL Defenseman of the Year in 2015 – the same year she helped her team to its Clarkson Cup victory.
Watchorn graduated from BU’s Sargent College in 2012 with a degree in health science and recently completed a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Northeastern.
Kimberly Weiss
Video Coach | Colorado Eagles
Weiss was hired as the Eagles Video Coach in the summer of 2024. She was a guest coach for the Avalanche in 2023-24 where she assisted in the last two Avalanche Development Camps, part of the 2023 Training Camp and periodically throughout the 2023-24 regular season. Outside the Avs’ organization, she most recently served as an Assistant Coach for the Trinity College Men’s Hockey program in 2023-24 where the team finished as the NCAA DIII runner-up. Prior to coaching at her alma matter, Weiss’ coaching career includes stints with the NAHL’s Maryland Black Bears and AAA Washington Pride programs in various capacities.
Weiss is a member of the National Hockey League Coaches Association Female Coaches Program and has been a featured speaker in the organization’s mentorship program. She is involved with USA Hockey’s player development camps in the summer as well as the Coaching Education Program. Kim is a USA Hockey Level 5 certified coach and graduated from Georgetown Visitation School in Washington, DC.
The Potomac, Md., native played college hockey at Trinity College from 2007-11, serving as team captain as a junior and senior. She was a first-team All-American and NESCAC Player of the Year as a senior in 2010-11. As a junior, she helped guide the Bantams to an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in program history. Weiss was a four-time All-NESCAC honoree and remains the program’s all-time leading scorer.
Taylor Wenczkowski
Assistant Coach | Princeton University
Wenczkowski is a current Assistant Coach at Princeton University where she started her collegiate coaching career in 2024.
Wenczkowski spent the 2023-24 season playing for PWHL Boston in the league’s inaugural season. Prior to the PWHL, she played three years in the Premier Hockey Federation for the Boston Pride, winning back-to-back Isobel Cups as the league champion in 2021 and 2022. Wenczkowski scored the game-winning goal in both championship games and earned MVP honors in 2022 and was a PHF League MVP Finalist.
While playing professionally, Wenczkowski started and founded a company in 2021, TW Hockey Academy, where she ran camps, clinics, and private lessons to boys and girls of all ages ranging from 4 years old to adults including several now PWHL players.
Most recently, in 2025 Wenczkowski was a guest coach at the NHL Bruins Development Camp where she was on the ice with prospects and presented a seminar on Player Development and incorporating it into goal setting while using the SMART method.
Wenczkowski has a strong passion for player development and incorporating unique skill development into practice planning for her respective players.
Wenczkowski played collegiately at New Hampshire, serving as team captain her senior season where she scored 42 goals and had 40 assists in her UNH career. In 2019, she was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and was a member of the Hockey East All-Star Team.
Prior to college, Wenczkowski played in the JWHL for the Boston Shamrocks for three seasons. She was also a member of the USA U18 Select Team in 2013 and 2014.
Danielle Wheeler
Manager - Female Development | Hockey Alberta
Danielle comes into the NHLCA program with over 35 years of hockey experience. On the playing side she attended Mercyhurst University for 4 years with a Div 1 scholarship, after completion of her degree she moved onto playing 3 season in the former NWHL/CWHL in Ontario.
After playing Danielle moved onto the coaching side where she has 11 years of experience mostly on the male side of the sport. Coaching U7 all they way up to U15, and is on staff as video coach for the U18 Female Team Alberta scheduled to compete at 2024 Nationals in November.
Danielle made a career change and joined Hockey Alberta in the spring of 2022 and is currently the Manager of Female Development and is hoping to bring lots of information and knowledge through this program to the province’s coaches in turn helping players in the province as well.
Karli Whitaker
Head Coach | Freedom High School
Karli is currently head of the program for Freedom High School and head coach for their Varsity and Junior Varsity hockey teams, which are part of the Lightning High School Hockey League. She is very passionate about growing the sport in a non-traditional hockey market. While coaching high school and spring travel teams, she likes to take time to coach at the grassroots levels, such as house league and girls development teams. Growing hockey at the grassroots level is her passion. Becoming the first female coach in the Lightning High School Hockey League is something she does not take lightly. If they can see it, they can be it. She hopes to show there is a path to coaching for women, and specifically for those who did not play at the highest level.
Rachel Wiebe
University of Alberta Hockey
Rachel Wiebe, was the first female assistant coach with a men’s hockey program in Canada West history and the second female to be named a full-time assistant with a men’s hockey program in U SPORTS history.
Upon joining the University of Alberta men’s hockey program in 2021 at the request of Head Coach Ian Herbers, Wiebe also became the first female coach in the program’s history at the University. She helped coach the Golden Bears to their 56th conference championship and 7th national silver medal in the 2021-2022 season with a record of 32-7. In 2022-2023, her second season with the Bears, the team earned silver medals both at the Canada West Championship and USPORT University Cup, finishing the season with a 31-14 record.
Prior to joining the men’s team, Wiebe served as an assistant coach with the University of Alberta women’s hockey program in 2019-2020. She helped guide the team to a 26-10 record, securing their 14th Canada West championship and 17th appearance at the U SPORTS Championship, which was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A native of Fairview, Alberta, Wiebe has over 14 years of competitive playing experience on both men’s and women’s teams, and six years of coaching experience — three of which have been at the USPORTS level. Additionally, she has been an active member in the Hockey Alberta and Hockey Yukon communities. While coaching, Wiebe graduated with an undergraduate degree from the University of Alberta in 2024.
Breanne Wilson-Bennett
Assistant Coach | Colgate University
Breanne Wilson-Bennett is a hockey coach and player development specialist with extensive experience mentoring athletes at the collegiate, professional, and youth levels.
A native of Markham, Ontario, Wilson-Bennett played four years at Colgate University, serving as team captain and helping lead the program to its first-ever Frozen Four appearance, NCAA Championship game, and ECAC title. She went on to play professionally with MODO in Sweden’s SDHL and won an Isobel Cup with the Toronto Six in the PHF before retiring from competition.
Since retiring as a player, Wilson-Bennett has focused on coaching and development. She has worked with top talent in women’s hockey, including the first and second overall picks in the PWHL Draft, served as an assistant coach at Colgate University and Union College, and spent four years as Director of Player Development at HyperFit in Toronto.
She combines her on-ice experience, leadership, and passion for development to mentor the next generation of hockey talent.
Pernilla Winberg
Assistant Coach | Boston Fleet
Pernilla Winberg is a 4x Olympian for Team Sweden. She scored the game-winning goal in the shootout against USA in the semi-finas in 2006 leading Sweden to a silver medal. Winberg played in 12 World Championships with Team Sweden throughout her career winning 2 bronze medals.
She also played 4 seasons in the NCAA at Minnesota Duluth where she was an assistant captain her senior year.
Back in Sweden, Winberg played in the SDHL for a total of 15 seasons, ending her career as one of the most merited ice hockey players in Sweden.
After her playing career, she joined the Swedish U18 National Team as assistant coach in 2022 and won a silver medal at the World Championships in 2023.
To inspire more girls to keep playing hockey, she started Winberg Hockey Academy in 2019 to provide a fun and competitive environment for girls and women to develop on and off the ice.
Pernilla will be entering her second season as an assistant coach with PWHL Boston Fleet.
Shannon Wise
Head Coach | St. Thomas Jr. Stars U11 A Boys
Wise grew up playing boys hockey for the St. Thomas Minor Hockey Association (STMHA)–the same association she now coaches with. As a child, she played ‘A’ hockey for STMHA before making the move to ‘AA’ with the London Devilettes Association where she played her entire junior career.
Wise went on to play varsity hockey at the University of New Brunswick (2005-2008). After returning home to St. Thomas, she was an assistant coach at Western University, helping lead the team to an OUA silver medal, the first in Mustangs women’s hockey history (2011-2012). She has also coached hockey at the high school and grassroots levels.
Wise is the head coach of the U11 ‘A’ St. Thomas Jr. Stars, coming off a successful season as head coach of the U10 ‘AA’ Jr. Stars who were Silver Stick Regional Finalists. Wise is dedicated to fostering an environment where athletes learn the value of collaboration, camaraderie and solid work ethic on and off the ice.
Jenn Wood
President | Washington Wild Female Hockey Association
Jenn Wood is the President of the Washington Wild Female Hockey Association in Seattle Washington, which serves over 150 girls from ages 4-19 at both the recreational and rep levels. She has been coaching for 13 years at all levels from beginners to High School, and is passionate about her mission of growing hockey for all girls in the Pacific Northwest. Jenn is currently coaching 12UAA, and is having a blast!
Melissa Wronzberg
Head Coach | Leaside Jr Wildcats, Team Israel Women's National team and Maccabi Girls Hockey
Melissa Wronzberg has coached at the Toronto Leaside Wildcats association since 2016. She is currently the Head Coach of the Jr Wildcats in the OWHL U22 Elite League. She is also entering her third season as a coach of the Israeli National Women’s team in the IIHF Women’s World Championships, last year as Head Coach, the team won a program-best Silver medal.
In addition, Wronzberg is the co-founder and Head Coach of the Maccabi Girls Hockey Spring Program in partnership with Maccabi Canada. The program, which is gearing up for its fourth year, brings together Jewish girls from across North America in the spring for skills sessions and tournaments with a focus on skill development and community building.
Wronzberg has been coaching in the Leaside Wildcats association for 9 years, starting as an assistant coach of the JR program, before transitioning to Head Coach of the U18 team and is now in her second season as head coach of the JR program. In addition, Wronzberg enjoys coaching with Total Female Hockey, where she has been a part-time instructor since 2010.
Before coaching, Wronzberg was a member of the CWHL’s Markham (Brampton) Thunder for two seasons, which included a Clarkson Cup championship in 2018. Prior to joining the Thunder, she played at Ryerson (now TMU) University for 5 years, including the inaugural season. For four of five seasons, she was proud to be an Alternate Captain. She also graduated as the program’s leader in goals, assists and points. Wronzberg continues to play at the rec level and competed in the 2022 Maccabiah games representing Team Canada, where she won gold, and is set to play again in 2026.
Stephanie Yates
Goaltending Development Director / Goaltending Coach | Anaheim Lady Ducks and Anaheim Jr Ducks
Stephanie was born and raised in Garden Grove, California. Her hockey career started when her family would all attended her sibling’s hockey games at Disney ice (now Anaheim ice). A goalie quit and she jumped at the chance to fill the spot. Shortly after she joined The Anaheim Lady Ducks for their inaugural season in 1999. She continued to play in Southern California for her youth career.
After her youth career she headed back east to play for Utica College (Now Utica University) in 2003 to 2007. A year after graduating College she returned to her Alma Mater as the Assistant coach, goalie coach and recruiting coordinator for 3 years before being hired on to do the same at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in 2011 – 2012.
After Sacred Heart She put her Business Management degree to work and jump to the business operations side of hockey with the Springfield Jr. Blues in the NAHL 2012 – 2013.
After a year in Illinois She made the decision to head home and be closer to family and has now come full circle with the Lady Ducks, Jr Ducks and The Rinks programs.
She now is the Director of Goaltending for the Lady Duck, Co-director of Goaltending for the Jr Ducks, and was appointed to many roles within USA Hockey both in their programming for coaching education and goaltending.