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General Managers, On Your Mark, Get Set…Go! |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Bright and early this morning, the new Professional Women’s Hockey League announced the name of the six individuals who would take the helm of its first six franchises. In Boston, Danielle Marmer got the big job, in Minnesota, local favorite Natalie Darwitz was appointed, in Montreal, women’s hockey legend Daniele Sauvageau was chosen, in New York, Pascal Daoust was named, in Ottawa, Michael Hirshfeld got the job and Gina Kingsbury will be Toronto’s mastermind.
The league left nothing to chance and appointed great hockey minds as general managers for its inaugural season. Marmer spent the last year as a Player Development and Scouting Assistant with the Boston Bruins, becoming the first woman to have an on-ice role with the storied franchise. Prior to that, she was the Director of Development at Quinnipac University and assistant coach for the Connecticut College’s Women’s Hockey Team. On the ice, she had a great career in the NCAA.
Darwitz won three Olympic medals with Team USA, three World Championship gold medals and two NCAA National Championships with the University of Minnesota, needless to say, the fan base will already love its general manager who’s a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame, “M” Club Hall of Fame and the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame. She spent the last two seasons as Associate Head Coach of the Gophers NCAA Division I women’s hockey team.
Sauvageau’s name is well known in Quebec, she’s coached the Canadian Women’s National Team to its first Olympic Gold Medal in 2002 , held a coaching position in the QJMHL and created the women’s hockey program at the University of Montreal. A few years ago, she launched the Centre 21.02 in Verdun which is the first and only recognized High Performance Hockey Centre for women athletes in Canada. She’s served there as President, Chief Executive Officer and Coach. The Centre 21.02 was used by the PWHPA for its showcase and in each media appearance, Sauvageau was clear that she had created the Centre in readiness of welcoming a professional women’s hockey team in Montreal. Her nomination was a foregone conclusion to anyone who’s been following the women’s game in La Belle Province.
Daoust has had a long career in hockey and has been the QJMHL’s Val d’Or’s Foreurs general manager from 2016 to 2023. Before working in the “Q”, he was an Assistant Coach for the University of Montreal’s women’s hockey team where he won two national championships and made the podium three more times.
Hirshfeld joins the PWHL after serving for seven years as the Executive Director of the NHL Coaches’ Association. His unique position allowed him to build the NHLCA’s relationships with hockey federations in North America, Europe and Asia.
As for Kingsbury, she hardly needs any introduction, having won two Olympic Gold Medals with the Canadian’s women’s National Team and having taking part in 6 IIHF Women’s Championships, winning three Gold and three Silver medals. Off the ice, she was the Vice President of Hockey Operations at Hockey Canada and was also the General Manager of the Canadian’s Women’s National Team Programs since 2018.
After the nominations were announced, the draft order was revealed. Minnesota will be speaking first, followed by Toronto, Boston, New York, Ottawa and Montreal will have the last pick. I doubt any Montreal fan will be disappointed as it will likely be the city who will sign Marie-Philip Poulin to a contract during free agency.
The six general managers now have a 10-day free agency window in which they can sign three free agents each before the draft is held on September 18. There haven’t been any signing announcements so far today and perhaps there won’t be so that the spotlight stays on the league six new hires, but I fully expect the signings to be done long before September 10.
I would be shocked if Sauvageau didn’t manage to sign both Canada’s Captain Clutch Marie-Philip Poulin and outstanding goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens to play in Montreal. It’s easy to see Sarah Nurse and Natalie Spooner signing in Toronto, but there will also be some wildcards out there who have no particular ties to any city. Could American legend Hilary Knight be tempted to join Poulin in Montreal like she did before when they both lined-up for Les Canadiennes? Or will Sauvageau want to opt for a bit more youth?
On top of signings, we’ll likely hear about coaching appointments in the next few days. Daniele Sauvageau said in her media availability that she’s already got a verbal agreement with a coach in place but she wouldn’t reveal who it was. Personally, I’d love to see Caroline Ouellette be the bench boss of the Montreal team. She’s currently coaching the women’s team at Concordia University alongside her partner Julie Chu, but she’s also been an assistant coach with the Canadian Women’s National Team.
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