PWHL Names Head Coaches for Inaugural Season

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced the head coaches for their six teams during the league’s inaugural season. “As a league, we are fortunate to embark on our inaugural season with a distinguished group of head coaches who have demonstrated leadership and a commitment to player development at all levels of women’s hockey,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. “I want to credit our General Managers for their efforts in identifying highly qualified candidates that are well respected and motivated to help our athletes reach their full potential in the PWHL.”

Courtney Kessel – Boston

Courtney Kessel comes to the PWHL Boston from Princeton University (NCAA) where she has been an Assistant Coach since the 2019-20 season. During her first season on the coaching staff, Princeton earned its first ECAC Championship with a program-record 26 wins.

During the last season of the now defunct CWHL, Kessel had the honors of being the Head Coach of the Toronto Furies  and leading them to the semifinals where they were beaten by the soon-to-be champions the Calgary Inferno.

On the international stage, Kessel is no stranger to winning medals. As Canada’s U18 assistant coach (2019) and head coach (2023), she earned two IIHF gold medals. While playing for Canada’s national team she won three IIHF Women’s World Championship medals – 1 Gold, 2 Silver.

Charlie Burggraf – Minnesota

Reunited and it feels so good!

Today, Minnesota native Charlie Burggraf was named Head Coach of the PWHL Minnesota by his former player, Natalie Darwitz. Burggraf was the Assistant Coach at the University of Minnesota during Darwitz’s legendary 114-point senior season.

From 2006-10, Burggraf served as the bench boss of the Bethel University women’s hockey program. Under his guidance, Bethel University made three MIAC playoff appearances and Burggraf earned the honor of being named 2009 Coach of the Year.

He then spent the next eight seasons leading Bethel’s men’s team through 2018.

Kori Cheverie – Montreal

Kori Cheverie kicked off her coaching career in a historical way by being the first full-time female assistant for a U SPORTS men’s hockey program. For five seasons spanning 2017 to 2021, Cheverie stood behind the Ryerson University bench helping lead the team into a playoff spot every single year of play. In 2022, Cheverie left Ryerson to be an assistant coach for Canada’s National Team in the 2022 Winter Olympics and earned a gold medal from her living room.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Due to testing positive for COVID a few weeks before traveling to Beijing, Cheverie had to coach from the comfort of her living room. You can read the interview she did with Toronto Metropolitan University about the experience here.

Around The PWHL

• In Hainsight: Here Are your PWHL Montreal players!
• Inaugural PWHL Draft Picks
• Inaugural PWHL Draft : Who, When, and How to Watch
• In Hainsight: Chevrie Appointed as Head Coach of Montreal’s PWHL Franchise
• PWHL Names Head Coaches for Inaugural Season

Howie Draper – New York

Howie Draper comes to the PWHL with quite a prolific career featuring 665 overall wins, a record eight U SPORTS National Championships, two silver medals, 14 Canada West titles, and four U SPORTS Coach of the Year awards.

Before coming to the PWHL New York, Draper spent 25 seasons coaching Canada’s most successful women’s hockey program, the University of Alberta.

Carla MacLeod – Ottawa

Even though Carla MacLeod is a native of Canada, her coaching career has featured two international teams. The first was as an assistant coach for Team Japan from 2012-14. Most recently she has been the head coach of the Czechia national team helping them win back-to-back bronze medals at the 2022 and 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championships. These medals were the country’s first medals as part of the tournament’s top division and earned MacLeod a three-year contract extension.

MacLeod was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020. Over 115 games with Wisconsin, she tallied 81 points in the form of 15 goals and 66 assists.

Troy Ryan – Toronto

Troy Ryan comes to the PWHL Toronto from Canada’s National Women’s Team where he has been coaching since 2020. Ryan led the team to back-to-back IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medals in 2021 and 2022, and Olympic gold in 2022. He then went on to lead the Women’s team to a silver medal at the 2023 Women’s World’s before joining Canada’s National Men’s Team where he won World Championship gold.