Courtney Kessel officially leaves Boston Fleet in return to Princeton as women's hockey coach
'It is bittersweet to move on from the Boston Fleet and the amazing people building that organization and the PWHL as a whole,' Kessel said. 'This opportunity was the only one that could draw me away from where I was.'
From Toronto, Kessel played at New Hampshire, where she was a 2010 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the MVP of women's college hockey. She also represented Canada at three world championships, including a gold-medal win in 2012.
Advertisement
She also has Hockey Canada coaching experience, serving as a senior team assistant in 2024 and head coach of the 2023 gold-medal winning Under-18 team.
The Fleet have undergone major changes this offseason. Star forward
Advertisement
'Courtney set the tone from Day 1 and elevated our group with her competitiveness, preparation, and care,' Fleet GM Danielle Marmer said. 'She's already established herself as an elite coach early in her career, and I know she'll continue to raise the bar as the next head coach at Princeton.'
In other PWHL coaching news, Brian Idalski is leaving St. Cloud State after being hired as coach of Vancouver, the league announced Monday.
The 54-year-old has more than 20 years of women's hockey coaching experience, including overseeing China's national team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Idalski also coached the KRS Vanke Rays to two Russian-women's league ZhHL championships over a three-year period.
Vancouver's inaugural roster includes former Vanke Rays players, Michela Cava and Hannah Miller, who also played for China in 2022. Idalski's hiring comes a day before the PWHL draft. Vancouver will select seventh followed by Seattle, with the expansion teams switching the final two spots in each successive round of the six-round draft.
Idalski spent the past three seasons at St. Cloud State, where he earned college hockey coach of the year honors in 2023 after the team tied a school record with 18 wins.
Seattle filled its coaching position last week by hiring Steve O'Rourke.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Linus Karlsson leads Abbottsford Canucks to 3-2 win over Charlotte Checkers to win Calder Cup
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Linus Karlsson scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the Abbotsford Canucks beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Monday night to win their first Calder Cup championship. Sammy Blais and Danila Klimovich also scored for the Canucks, and Arshdeep Bains had two assists. Arturs Silovs finished with 28 saves. Advertisement Abbotsford is Vancouver's first AHL affiliate to hoist the cup and the first Canadian winner since the Toronto Marlies in 2018. John Leonard and Jack Devine scored first-period goals for the Checkers, who lost the best-of-seven American Hockey League championship series in six games. The Canucks lost Game 5 in overtime on Saturday in front of the largest crowd to ever witness an AHL game at the Abbotsford Centre in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. After spotting Charlotte the first two goals on Monday night, the Canucks roared back with three unanswered goals, including the winner from Karlsson with 2:41 left in the second period. Abbotsford went 1 for 2 on the power play, while Charlotte went 0 for 4. ___ AP NHL:
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
Linus Karlsson leads Abbottsford Canucks to 3-2 win over Charlotte Checkers to win Calder Cup
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Linus Karlsson scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the Abbotsford Canucks beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Monday night to win their first Calder Cup championship. Sammy Blais and Danila Klimovich also scored for the Canucks, and Arshdeep Bains had two assists. Arturs Silovs finished with 28 saves. Abbotsford is Vancouver's first AHL affiliate to hoist the cup and the first Canadian winner since the Toronto Marlies in 2018. John Leonard and Jack Devine scored first-period goals for the Checkers, who lost the best-of-seven American Hockey League championship series in six games. The Canucks lost Game 5 in overtime on Saturday in front of the largest crowd to ever witness an AHL game at the Abbotsford Centre in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. After spotting Charlotte the first two goals on Monday night, the Canucks roared back with three unanswered goals, including the winner from Karlsson with 2:41 left in the second period. Abbotsford went 1 for 2 on the power play, while Charlotte went 0 for 4. ___ AP NHL:
Boston Globe
5 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Hard work and 35,000 practice shots pay off for Clarkson defender Haley Winn entering PWHL Draft
The 21-year-old Winn laughed at the memory. 'Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate,' she said. 'I could stay at the rink all day just because that's what I enjoy doing. I don't have to force myself to do it.' Advertisement The relentless work translated into Winn completing her college career ranking second among Clarkson defensemen with 130 career points (37 goals, 93 assists), seven behind Erin Ambrose at the school in upstate New York. It helped Winn, at 19, land a spot on the US national team, with her already And she's considered a top-three pick entering the eight-team, six-round PWHL Draft in Ottawa on Tuesday. 'It doesn't even feel real that my name should be up there,' said Winn, who got her start at 3 years old on her father's backyard rink in Rochester, N.Y. 'When I was that young, really, all I wanted to do was go to the Olympics,' added Winn, who has an opportunity to achieve that dream at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games in February. 'As I grew older, I realized the steps to get there and what it was going to take. So yeah, it's just awesome.' Related : Advertisement The New York Sirens hold the No. 1 pick for a second straight year, followed by the Boston Fleet, and Toronto Sceptres. Next year's expansion teams, Vancouver and Seattle, pick seventh and eighth, respectively. Rounding out the top prospects are Colgate forward Kristyna Kaltounkova, who is from the Czech Republic and could be the first European chosen first; and Wisconsin forward Casey O'Brien, this season's Patty Kazmaier Award winner as women's college hockey's MVP. The prevailing consensus has the Sirens looking for a forward to complement last year's No. 1 pick, Sarah Fillier, who finished tied for the PWHL lead with 29 points. New York's offense took a hit in the PWHL's expansion process by losing forwards Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge. They combined for 20 of the team's PWHL-low 71 goals last season. Meantime, New York is deep at defense with the return of Ella Shelton, Maja Nylan Persson, and Micah Zandee-Hart. New York GM Pascal Daoust acknowledged a need at forward, while refusing to rule out targeting a defenseman at No. 1. 'Thinking that it automatically means we go forward is probably not covering all the angles, knowing me,' Daoust said, referring to potential trade opportunities. 'There's still a lot that can still be done between June and November.' Related : Sirens coach Greg Fargo previously coached Kaltounkova at Colgate, where he also faced Winn in ECAC competition. At 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds, the 23-year-old Kaltounkova brings a physical style with offensive flair. She finished her five-year college career with 233 points (111 goals, 122 assists) and 218 penalty minutes in 171 games. Advertisement The only potential blemish was the ECAC assessing Kaltounkova a two-game suspension for an undisclosed reason in February 2024, after which she missed two more games to, as the school put it, 'step away from the team.' Kaltounkova told the 'Rinkside Rundown' podcast last week she's doing her best to stay grounded in approaching the draft. 'There's moments where I'm like, `Oh my god, what if this and what if that?′ And then I pause and just like, `I can't think about that.′ Like, that would just bring me down a rabbit hole,' she said. 'It kind of fuels me because it's either people hyping you up and cheering you on, or it's people criticizing you. And both things motivate me so much.' Kaltounkova had four goals and six points in her world championship tournament debut on home ice in April. 'She's coming with speed, she's coming with physicality, she's coming with a great shot — a PWHL shot-level quality,' Daoust said of Kaltounkova. As for Winn, Daoust noted her puck-moving ability and defensive presence. 'Great person, great leader, so a lot of positives under her name,' he said. Winn reflected on her younger days in joining her three older brothers on the family's rink. 'They never wanted me to play because I was the little sister. But I think I've earned my spot now,' Winn said. 'Obviously, they were pretty tough on me. But that's what made me who I am today.'
