Alex Boulanger used to spend her working hours waiting for the weekend. To get away from the office and back to the rink. She didn’t care about the level; she just wanted to spend more time around hockey. Then it finally occurred to her that she could. She just had to try.

“What was tough for me was [worrying about] what other people were going to think … but at the end of the day, it’s what you’re going to think if you don’t,” Boulanger said. “Have the courage to just go … often times [success] is just the audacity to go and try.”

So, at 29 years old, the product of Brossard, Quebec, went back to university in pursuit of a career in hockey.

She enrolled at the Université de Montréal and played two seasons with the Carabins, until there was no longer room for her on the roster. Though disappointing at the time, being forced to find a new team (and therefore a new school) was a stroke of luck for Boulanger.

She reached out to Concordia University coach Caroline Ouellette and asked for a tryout. It went well and she was invited to join the team.

“I didn’t know Alex very much, but I had heard great things about her character, her leadership and about her as a teammate,” said Ouellette, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee. “I knew she was very involved in the community already as a student-athlete, in coaching and volunteering in different areas of hockey, so for us at Concordia it just made sense to have that type of leadership and character and experience.”

“That’s where the passion and the goal to coach really grew, especially under [Ouellette], who I can now call a good friend and a good mentor to me,” Boulanger said. “She and Julie [Chu] have been very kind to me, took me under their wings.”

U SPORTS transfer rules require a player to redshirt for a season before being eligible with a new school, so by the time Boulanger suited up for the Stingers, she was in her fourth year of university. Which, coincidentally, meant she was eligible for Creating Coaches, a program launched by Hockey Canada and the Hockey Canada Foundation (HCF) in 2021. It is designed to encourage more women into leadership positions by supporting senior student-athletes to try coaching.

“It’s tough when you want to start coaching and you’re a player … you need training, but you also need the connection to a team,” Boulanger said, explaining how the Hockey Canada program facilitates the needs of the student-athlete and the minor hockey teams they coach.

In addition to providing coaching certification, Creating Coaches connects the athletes with a minor hockey organization to build a coaching resume. A financial subsidy from the HCF enables athletes to commit more easily to the whole program by not having to balance part-time work on top of everything else.

“If it wasn’t for the program and the financial support that’s through the Hockey Canada Foundation, there’s no way I could have committed all my free time to a team,” Boulanger said, who spent two seasons with CEGEP teams while finishing up her own schooling.

“You can tell right away as a coach yourself, there’s a certain few that have what it takes to become a coach,” Ouellette explained. “I think Alex always had the intangibles: the work ethic, the passion, the dedication for the game to better herself, to better her teammates and to want to study the game.

“We were really, really so proud that she was chosen as part of the Creating Coaches program because we really believe it’s truly an important program to build and to give opportunities to more student-athletes to start coaching and to develop a passion for it.”

Boulanger graduated from Concordia (and Creating Coaches) in 2023 and felt ready to make a living out of hockey. A longtime friend and former minor hockey teammate, Valérie Bois, had just been named head coach of the women’s hockey team at Bishop’s University, so Boulanger made a call. One brief, formal meeting later, she was a full-time assistant coach.

“I was coaching players I had just played against for the past two seasons,” Boulanger pointed out. “But at some point, you just have to take the opportunity when it comes.”

Boulanger is no stranger to opportunity. With the Stingers, she was part of back-to-back U SPORTS national championship drives, including one title win. With the Gaiters, she was back in the national championship game in just her second season behind the bench. But this time, Boulanger was facing down a friendly foe. Waterloo Warriors assistant coach Emma Cheeseman was in the inaugural Creating Coaches cohort with Boulanger.

“Emma and I, during the starting [lineup] presentation, looked at each other and were just like ‘Let’s go!’” Boulanger remembered. “It was just like coming full circle.”

“We were so very proud for her and Valérie Bois, who is also a great friend in coaching,” Ouellette said. “We felt a lot of pride for Alex in her young coaching career because we know how hard she worked to bring Bishop’s to the level they were playing at when it mattered the most.”

Coming off the national title, Bois was offered a position in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. When it was time to tell Boulanger, she just had one question.

“She gave me a call and said, ‘When would you be ready to be a head coach?’” Boulanger said with a grin.

Boulanger was named Bishop’s head coach for the 2025-26 season. Eight years after starting a journey to break away from a desk, Boulanger was living her dream.

To Laurence Morissette, teaching and coaching go hand in hand. With her coaching philosophy focused on communication and being player-centric, the Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, native works to teach resilience, teamwork and leadership to her athletes.

This season, Morissette is the national BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award winner in the High Performance category. The award celebrates women who are making a difference as coaches through leadership, mentorship and a commitment to player development. The High Performance category recognizes coaches working with athletes competing at the U SPORTS, Canadian collegiate hockey and professional levels.

HockeyCanada.ca caught up with Morissette to learn more about the journey that has shaped her as a coach and leader.

What was yourinitial reaction when you learned you had been selected as a national winner of the BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award?

It was an honour when I heard the news. Being recognized alongside so many women who are pushing the game forward across Canada is a huge privilege for me. This award is a reflection of all the incredible players, coaches and mentors who have supported me along the way, and I will continue to share my passion for hockey every single day.

What inspired you to get into coaching and what has kept you passionate about it over the years?

I started coaching when my playing career ended. After playing hockey for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, I knew I wasn't ready to walk away from the rink, so I wanted to give back to the game that shaped who I am right now. What started as a transition out of playing quickly became a true passion. Today, whether I'm coaching at Heritage College, teaching and coaching at Louis-Riel High School or running summer camps, my passion is fueled by seeing the athletes grow. Watching players grasp new concepts, build their confidence and succeed both on and off the ice is what keeps me motivated every single day.

How would you describe your coaching style and what values do you hope your athletes take away from their experience with you?

I'm very player-centred and communication-driven. I believe in high standards while providing high support. I think it's all about creating a safe yet challenging environment where players feel motivated to push their limits. I want my athletes to walk away with strong self-confidence, a deep sense of accountability and a lifelong love for the game. I think hockey is a great way to teach resilience, teamwork and leadership. I think those values will serve them long after they hang up their skates.

How do you help your players grow both on and off the ice?

We all know that high performance comes with high pressure. But I believe that winning on the ice starts with growing as a person. On the ice, we focus on small details, smart tactics and staying calm under pressure.

Off the ice, my experience as a teacher has really helped me guide my players as student-athletes. We work on life skills like time management, leadership and managing their emotions. I want to treat them as a whole person, not just hockey players. We want to build their trust and character so they can succeed in demanding environments.

Who has had the biggest influence on your coaching journey and helped to shape you into the coach you are today?

I've been really fortunate to have good coaches. I had an amazing coach, Chelsea Grills, when I was playing at the University of Ottawa, so it was a really easy transition to being behind the bench right after I stopped playing hockey. There’s also my teaching career right now. One person I have in mind is Karina Potvin, who I work with. She has really helped me start my career and has shown me a lot of things. There are also people who are working at Heritage College who have helped me along the way. They taught me that great coaching is actually great teaching. They showed me how to communicate effectively with players, adapt to different learning styles, lead with empathy and always bring positive energy.

What does it mean to you to be recognized with this award during such an exciting time for women’s hockey in Canada?

It's absolutely incredible with the rise of professional hockey, women's hockey and the growing registration numbers across the country. Women's hockey has a spotlight on it like never before. To receive this award right now is truly special. It reinforces the importance of representation. I want young girls to look at the bench and see that there is a viable, exciting and rewarding path for them in coaching and leadership within the sport.

What advice would you give to young women who are considering stepping behind the bench and pursuing a career in coaching?

Just jump in. Don't wait until you feel like you know everything. I think the best coaches are lifelong learners who learn by doing. Trust yourself, trust your experience as a player and don't be afraid to voice your perspective. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Sometimes, it is just the energy you bring behind the bench that young players need.

CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada and U SPORTS have announced that Creating Coaches, a program designed to increase the number of women coaching hockey in Canada, has expanded to welcome 12 student-athletes as part of its fifth cohort.

The student-athletes will continue to play U SPORTS women’s hockey while serving as assistant coaches for U13, U15 or U18 girls' hockey teams in their respective communities. Each student-athlete will receive training, mentorship, education and an honorarium throughout the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.

This year’s cohort includes student-athletes from 12 U SPORTS women’s hockey programs across all four of its conferences:

• Grace Beer (Dalhousie University, AUS)
• Sarah Bestic (University of Waterloo, OUA)
• Anika Cormier (McGill University, RSEQ)
• Hayleigh Craig (University of Alberta, CW)
• Cailey Davis (Toronto Metropolitan University, OUA)
• Kara den Hoed (Wilfrid Laurier University, OUA)
• Alexa Giantsopoulos (York University, OUA)
• Payton Hargreaves (University of New Brunswick, AUS)
• Kaitlyn McKnight (University of Toronto, OUA)
• Angélique Proulx (University of Ottawa, OUA)
• Cassidy Rhodes (University of British Columbia, CW)
• Jordyn Verbeek (Concordia University, RSEQ)

“We are very excited to expand the Creating Coaches program to welcome even more incredible student-athletes from across U SPORTS this season, thanks to the generous financial support of the Hockey Canada Foundation,” said Marin Hickox, vice-president of women’s and girls’ hockey for Hockey Canada. “Last season set a record for the most women coaching hockey in Canadian history, and we know that programs like Creating Coaches are critical for continuing to support the recruitment, retention and development of women and girls in hockey leadership roles.

To each of our new Creating Coaches participants, congratulations on being nominated and selected to join this program. We cannot wait to follow your journeys behind the bench for years to come.

Creating Coaches was launched in 2021 through a partnership between Hockey Canada, U SPORTS and the Hockey Canada Foundation to provide current student-athletes with opportunities to begin their coaching careers while still playing university women’s hockey.

Since its inception, Creating Coaches has included student-athletes from 23 U SPORTS women’s hockey programs and all four of its conferences.

“During National Coaches Week, it’s fitting to celebrate the investment in people who will shape the future of our sport,” said Pierre Arsenault, chief executive officer of U SPORTS. “Creating Coaches gives U SPORTS athletes a clear, supported runway to develop as coaches and mentors, and we’re proud to expand this program with Hockey Canada and the Hockey Canada Foundation.”

The Creating Coaches selection committee includes representation from Hockey Canada, U SPORTS, Hockey Canada’s Members and the Hockey Canada Foundation Board of Directors.

During National Coaches Week, Hockey Canada is celebrating the positive impact coaches have on athletes in communities from coast to coast to coast, with coaching resources and features shared here.

For more information on Hockey Canada, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.

“It was seeing my son on the ice and just having that want and desire to be out there with him and experience what he was experiencing, helping him learn,” she says.

That was almost six years ago.

Today, Keeley is the national BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award recipient in the Community category, and the creator of a thriving coach development program with the Knights Hockey Club in Calgary.

“I think it’s important for women to realize that they have so much to offer and that what they have to offer is recognized and is appreciated,” Keeley says of the BFL CANADA honour. “This award gives that; it brings light to [the fact] that we can do this. We’re here now, and let’s keep blazing trails and breaking ceilings and all of those amazing things.”

A ringette player growing up who dabbled in hockey when the boys’ team in her northern Saskatchewan community needed bodies to fill out the lineup, Keeley had never given much thought to coaching until her son got into the game at the Timbits U7 level in the fall of 2018.

When she wasn’t selected to coach the following season in U9, her attention turned back to her first athletic love and she joined the Bow View Ringette Association, working as an assistant coach and head coach at U10 and U12.

“[It was about] learning and gaining the confidence that I needed to step back into hockey and make a difference,” she says of her three years with Bow View.

The word that continually comes up is process – Keeley spent those seasons observing other coaches, ensuring she was surrounded by the right people, building her coaching support system, filling her toolbox and learning how to be a coach in the competitive space.

One of her biggest takeaways? No one does it alone.

“What I believe makes the most successful coach is to surround themselves with people for the skills that they don’t currently have,” Keeley says. “And so for me, I always make sure that I have a very, very rounded team of people that can offset the skills that I don’t have, that I can learn from.”

When the 2022-23 hockey season rolled around, Keeley was ready to get back behind the bench with her son at the U11 level.

But she didn’t come back to hockey empty-handed. In addition to the skills she had learned with Bow View, Keeley came armed with a proposal for a coach development program targeted at women.

“The program was not so much about giving women all the tools they needed to be a coach,” she says. “It starts with having the confidence to put up their hand and say, ‘Yeah, I have something to offer.’ It was really about just helping the ladies to make that decision to put up their hand and to help them have that confidence to step on the ice.

“One of the objectives was to make sure that we had strong female leadership to keep girls in sport, because that’s important. What if we have strong leadership from the same gender on the ice? Would that make a difference? Would girls want to stay [involved in hockey] if they saw strong female coaches on the ice?”

The association was quick to jump at the proposal, and Keeley was off and running.

“Where we started was I held one on-ice session to begin with, and we had 12 ladies that put up their hand and came out,” she says. “And really what it was about more than anything was just to see what this program was all about.

“I had an hour-and-a-half ice time, and I think we spent 20 minutes on the ice. What we spent more time doing was talking about if this was the right fit for them, if they had the confidence to put their skates on and what this was going to look like if they actually got selected to be on the ice with their kid. It was amazing to hear females talk about challenges and obstacles and barriers, and me as a part of launching this program, being able to provide that space to have those open and honest conversations that they wouldn’t have anywhere else.”

What was originally meant to be a local program for women in the Knights program rapidly turned into something much bigger, much to Keeley’s delight.

Next was a training course, with the help of Hockey Alberta – the province’s first women-only Coach 2 clinic.

“At first, I was just opening it to the [local] group that had shown interest. Then we decided to open up to all of Alberta. And so on a very snowy November day, we had 24 females sitting in a room from across Alberta. We did the four-hour classroom, and then the next day we met for another seven [hours].

“That’s where the network started. A lot of us still keep in contact, and we send out emails to each other, and when there is an event happening for all female coaches, we make sure that we share and attend.”

In that first season, nine women were behind the bench with the Knights Hockey Club. During the 2023-24 season, that number grew to 14 – two as head coaches and 12 as assistants.

Keeley hosted a start-of-season meeting in September to teach coaches how to prepare a season plan and build practice plans, and had regular check-ins with every coach involved in the program, working through any challenges they were facing and ensuring they were getting what they needed from the experience.

She also continues to work closely with Hockey Calgary, participating in ongoing opportunities for women in coaching, including on- and off-ice development sessions.

But her No. 1 role is still being a mom, and there are few things that give her more joy than sharing hockey with her son. This season, Keeley led the U13 Tier 4 team.

“I always ask if he wants me to coach,” she says of her son. “And that even existed when I went and coached ringette because, of course, I wasn’t with him. I was always a non-parent coach in ringette, and I would ask him every season, ‘Are you okay if I do this?’

“When I coached the U12 AA team [in the spring of 2022], I was away quite a bit. We were on the ice five times a week. That was the first time he ever said to me, ‘Mom, I miss you. Can you come coach me?’

“We’re just in the midst of filling out our application for this upcoming season, which is his second year of U13. And he said, ‘Mom, are you going to coach again?’ I said, ‘Do you want me to?’ He said, ‘As long as you want to.’ So yes, I’m going to apply to be a coach again.”

That’s a lucky son, and a lucky association that gets to benefit from what Keeley has to offer.

But ask her, and she’ll tell you just the opposite – that she’s the lucky one, benefitting from what the players can offer her.

“I have had some really amazing experiences both on and off the ice, just learning from these players. The amount, if you sit back and you listen, that you can learn is just unbelievable, and they always make you smile.”

It was a full circle moment for Shakita Jensen when she stepped on the bench as head coach of Team Northwest Territories at the 2024 Arctic Winter Games.

In 2014, she played in the tournament in Alaska. A decade later, she returned to Alaska to coach.

“I felt a lot of emotions,” says Jensen, the national BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award winner in the Competitive category.

Jensen, from the Tahltan First Nation, started as an on-ice volunteer with the Yellowknife Minor Hockey Association in 2014. Since then, her passion for giving back has driven her to continue her coaching journey.

“The hockey community has given me so much that I felt an obligation to want to give back to the hockey community in any way I could,” Jensen says. “When I got back from school, I was like, ‘I should probably try coaching, see if I like it.’ And of course I liked it right away.”

In addition to giving back, a few impactful women who coached Jensen growing up opened her eyes to her own potential journey.

“Having my first female head coach was super cool, and that made me want to get into coaching,” she says. “Growing up, being sometimes the only girl on my hockey teams, not really many women coaching, and then having my first few female coaches thinking, ‘Wow they’re so cool, I want to be like them one day.’”

The position of being a role model and a leader for youth in her community was also a driving factor in wanting to become a coach.

“I’ve had so many influential coaches in my own playing career. [There are] everlasting impacts they can have on their players, not only on the ice, but off the ice as people as well, what you can teach your players as a coach. I felt that I had lots to offer [as a head coach] and I wanted to be there for kids.”

 Jensen was in the right place at the right time to get her first head coaching position. There was a shortage of coaches in her association, so they asked Jensen—who initially applied to be an on-ice helper—if she wanted to be a head coach.

“It was a lot of quick learning and kind of being thrown into it, but I felt confident in myself the whole time,” the 26-year-old explains. “I just tried to network with past coaches as much as I could to have a successful season, which I think I did.”

Early in her career, Jensen decided to apply to be a part of the 2023 Canada Winter Games coaching staff for Team NWT, but she wasn’t selected. However, one of the coaches recommended she apply for the Aboriginal Apprentice Coach program with the Aboriginal Sports Circle.

“They chose one woman and one man from the territory, and it could be from any sport, so I knew that it was a bit of a long shot, but when I heard I got in for hockey, I was super excited.”

Through the apprenticeship program, Jensen was able to attend last year’s Canada Winter Games on Prince Edward Island and work with Team NWT leading up to the event. Afterwards, she became an assistant coach for Team NWT for the 2023 Arctic Winter Games before being promoted to head coach for the 2024 tournament.

“I think that definitely opened a lot of doors,” she says. “It was cool to see the progression and to allow me to gain all the tools and resources that I needed to prepare my team.”

As head coach of Team NWT, the location of each player’s hometowns can often be difficult to navigate—sometimes resulting in very few full team practices before an event.

“It was definitely a challenge wanting to build your team culture and work on your strategies and trying to prepare for a high-performance, short-term competition when your team is scattered all over the territories, in some places that are fly in/fly out or just a lot of money barriers,” she explains. “I think one thing that was super helpful was our ability to connect online leading up to the Games.”

Another huge opportunity for Jensen’s team this year was February’s One For All event in Yellowknife. With more than 300 participants over four days, the event celebrated women’s and girls’ hockey with Try Hockey events, on-ice skills, coaching clinics and more.

Team Northwest Territories and Team Nunavut gathered to practice and face off in an exhibition game.

“It was an overwhelming successful weekend—players putting on their hockey gear for the first time and then other players who were about to be graduating minor hockey,” says Jensen, who volunteered with the event. “It felt super to contribute to that program, give back and hopefully keep that program on a yearly basis here.”

When Jensen found out she was the BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award winner for Hockey North in the Competitive category, she was shocked.

“I was so surprised, kind of caught off guard. I felt so much pride and gratitude.”

Jensen was unsure if she would be able to compete with the great provincial and territorial candidates across the country. But when she saw Cassie Campbell-Pascall on a video call congratulating her for winning the national award, she was in disbelief all over again.

“There are really no words,” she says of winning the national award. “There are so many influential coaches who go unrecognized sometimes for all the work they do. [I’m] really feeling proud of myself, but also feeling proud of everyone else across Canada who’s doing so much for the women’s game.”

Even as a player, Kelly Paton had always taken an interest in what happens behind the scenes in hockey. She took opportunities to learn more about the game from her coaching staff, including how staff helped to support student-athletes while she attended the University of New Hampshire.

That, along with her strong hockey IQ, led Paton’s head coach, Brian McCloskey, to give her a piece of advice: “Patty, you’re a coach.”

“He just kept telling me I was a coach,” says Paton, the national BFL CANADA Women in Coaching Award winner in the High Performance category. “Certainly, I was interested; I didn’t have my mind made up. I wanted to find ways to stay connected to the game and at that point, with some limitations of hockey beyond college, that was probably my best pathway for it.”

A Woodstock, Ontario, native who has spent the last six seasons as head coach of the women’s hockey team at Wilfrid Laurier University, Paton grew up in an athletic family. When her older brother started playing hockey, Paton wanted to start playing as well.

“Many days were spent in our cul-de-sac; I got stuck in the goalie position and his friends would shoot many pucks and balls my way,” Paton says. “That’s probably where my interest started.”

Paton initially played boys hockey in her hometown until switching to girls’ hockey with the London Devilettes. After her final year of minor hockey, she spent four years at New Hampshire, serving as captain and finishing as a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award as a senior in the 2009-10 season.

“[It] helped shape my confidence in my ability to play the game, but then big picture, how there are ways where I could give back and help the development of others,” Paton says of her time as a Wildcat. “I think that’s where I had some affirmation that my IQ for the game was pretty good and that aligned really well with coaching.”

After completing her undergraduate degree, Paton wasn’t sure how she wanted to incorporate coaching into her life, whether as a volunteer or as a career. But after finishing a graduate degree at Mercyhurst University and then living on Vancouver Island for a while, she decided to return home to Southwestern Ontario and get back involved with the game she loved.

She reconnected with her minor hockey roots by taking on a coaching role with the Devilettes’ junior program. There, Paton credits Dwayne Blais for being one of her mentors as she began her coaching journey.

“I was the head coach, but he certainly was the one I leaned on the most with being mentored and learning how to manage conflict, how to manage expectation, but more importantly just building practice plans that supported development.”

After reconnecting with one of her junior coaches, Paton was presented with an opportunity to join Western University as an assistant coach.

“I walked into a space where [the Mustangs] were coming off a national championship, which came with a lot of expectations,” Paton says. “I was happy we were still able to carry out some of that momentum and be a top performer in the OUA.”

Paton served as an assistant coach for two years before being promoted to head coach at Western. Ahead of the 2018-19 season, she made the move to Laurier.

“We’re coming off a great season this past year and our leadership group has done an excellent job of really stepping into a space where they’re allowing me to coach, which is awesome,” she says. “We’re certainly a team that carries high expectations, knowing that we still have responsibility to carry the legacy of Laurier hockey. […] The goal is to keep moving forward. I certainly think we’re in the right pathway to do that, and a lot of that is a testament to the players that we have in our program now.”

Reflecting on her time coaching in U SPORTS, one of the bigger transitions for Paton was navigating how to match her communication to each individual player on her team.

“In the university sector, it can get really challenging to satisfy 25 athletes with all different learning styles and still walk away and feel like we got through what we needed to get through today,” she explains. “Now with experience, I’ve learned that’s part of the process. But when I was younger, that day-to-day management of seeing where everybody’s at—generally the only way to figure that out is to ask, and that’s where the communication piece is.”

Building relationships has been key to Paton’s coaching journey, and she is grateful to have found a support system in her corner as she continues to develop as a coach.

“It’s been a pretty critical piece to finding confidence in myself,” Paton says of her mentors. “There’s been a couple that have been instrumental with shaping my coaching style, my communication style, my knowledge of the game. Dwayne was a big piece of that, Rachel Flanagan, and even my college coach, Brian. I still speak with him [14 years after graduating].”

For those looking to begin their coaching journeys or advance their coaching career into the high-performance area, Paton’s advice would be to stay honest and accountable.

“When mistakes happen, don’t shy away from taking ownership of that. If there are areas that are challenging or you need advice on, that’s where that mentorship really comes in handy; having somebody that’s a neutral soundboard that’s going to help you make decisions without carried bias or carried experiences.

“I’m really grateful that I’ve had those opportunities to have good people around me and have the confidence that went up when mistakes are made, and that helps trickle into the player group as well.”

The first thing Kaylee Grant did when she moved to Yellowknife was find a hockey team.

The operating engineer took a one-year term to gain experience in her industry. Twelve years later, she’s still in the Northwest Territories and hockey has been a reason why she calls it home.

“You gravitate to what you know, and I knew sports,” Grant says. “When you join a sport, you instantly have 17 friends and a group where you feel accepted through a common goal and interest. When I moved to the North, I didn’t know how else to meet friends, so I went to the rink right away.”

Grant grew up around the rink in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The community was also a hockey hotbed, supporting its Junior A, Junior B and university teams. Being around that passion and community made hockey an important part of her life.

“Playing hockey is what we did,” Grant says. “The community rallied behind our teams and the rinks were full, the atmosphere was great, and hockey was so prominent.”

She played minor hockey in Nova Scotia before moving to Newfoundland and Labrador to play at Memorial University. At 23 years old, she made the move to Yellowknife and knew she would find her community inside a rink.

“I find that the easiest thing to do when you come to a new place to meet people is through sport,” she says. “With joining a hockey team, I was already creating a group of people that were like-minded in interests and similar age. Plus, there are so many opportunities in the North to grow as coaches, players and mentors that have been so helpful.”

Grant’s love for the game wasn’t just as a player—she expanded her knowledge by getting into coaching while in Nova Scotia. She started as an off-ice coordinator with the Antigonish Bulldogs women’s under-18 team.

She did her Coach Development 1 training before getting her High Performance 1 training and evaluation certification. She continued to pursue additional coaching certification and training over the years to educate herself and give back to her community.

“I think seeing the female game continuously grow and develop that keeps me interested,” Grant says. “I love to see the progress in my players. I love seeing these players grow and adapt as individuals. Seeing them get involved in coaching is the coolest part.”

Her coaching philosophy is to develop a player’s passion for the game, be a role model and create an environment that is positive for women and girls.

Coaching and mentoring young girls are important to Grant, and she saw that path was through high-level opportunities, particularly by becoming a facilitator to drive more players into the coaching route. She has been working with Hockey North and the Hockey Canada Women Master Coach Developer program, which is focused on removing barriers to coaching education for women.

“Kaylee has volunteered at pretty much every level and she’s getting more involved with training coaches and being a clinician, which is an amazing progression for her,” says Kyle Kugler, executive director of Hockey North and a close friend of Grant. “She’s a great ambassador for hockey by giving back to other coaches through her experiences and helping with their development.”

Through being a volunteer coach, Grant has been able to experience some highlights with her teams, including as head coach for the Arctic Winter Games and Canada Winter Games, and as an assistant coach for Team North at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship.

“Hockey North has given me so many opportunities and having that support has impacted me as a coach,” Grant says. “I enjoyed every year with those territorial teams and those experiences are a very big reason why I stay here – the coaching opportunities and knowing that we continually have room to grow.”

Another event that Grant was a key volunteer for was the inaugural One For All festival held in Yellowknife in February. It was a four-day event for women and girls from across the N.W.T. and Nunavut that included goaltending clinics, on-ice scrimmages and other off-ice experiences. The event was launched in partnership with Hockey Canada and Hockey North to celebrate the sport and grow grassroots hockey in the North.

“Kaylee is one of our co-leads in the North, and when we set out to deliver this programming in Yellowknife, it was a no-brainer that she would be involved. And typical Kaylee, she just runs with a task and completely owns it,” says Katie Greenway, manager of women’s and girls’ hockey with Hockey Canada. “To have champions like Kaylee that dedicate themselves to their community and sport is so important.”

Giving back through coaching is just what Grant does—it’s like a hobby for her and she does it for others and to see more women in the sport, not for what it could bring to her.

“I’ve known Kaylee for a few years now and she has so much on her plate, but she never says no,” Greenway says. “She doesn’t do it for the accolades, but out of the goodness of her heart with a smile on her face. She’s fantastic and is really impacting everyone that she comes across.”

Grant’s impact on hockey in the North has been felt by many of the girls she has coached, mentored and played with over the past 12 years, but it’s the bigger picture that is most important to her.

“I’m not going to say that myself, individually, has drastically impacted female hockey in the North. I think I am a very small portion of what’s been going on in the North in the last 10 years,” Grant says. “I would like to think that I have helped develop more female coaches and I’ve been a good role model. I think if I have impacted hockey in the North, its pushing players to want to coach a little bit, but it’s a collective—everyone has left their mark on the female game.”

For Kugler, as the lone administrator for Hockey North, having volunteers like Kaylee is so critical to the work and development of hockey players.

“I think volunteers are essential for the delivery of anything in small communities in the North,” he says. “[Kaylee] takes on more than we even realize. Coaches have a huge influence on teams and athletes and she’s a positive role model and advocate for female hockey. She’s selfless with her time and she’s just an awesome person.”

Interested in becoming a coach? Visit HockeyCanada.ca/Coaching, or contact your local hockey association or Hockey Canada Member for more information.

CALGARY, AB – Hockey Canada and U SPORTS have announced the eight student-athletes who have been selected to join Creating Coaches, a program designed to increase the number of women coaching hockey in Canada, as part of its third cohort which will run during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

Launched in 2021 through a partnership between Hockey Canada, U SPORTS and the Hockey Canada Foundation, Creating Coaches provides training and mentorship to current U SPORTS student-athletes who are concurrently looking to begin their coaching careers. Participants in the program serve as an assistant coach with a U13, U15 or U18 girls’ hockey team for the duration of the two seasons and receive coach education, professional development opportunities and an honorarium.  

This year’s cohort includes student-athletes from eight U SPORTS women’s hockey programs across three of its conferences:

• Alexis Anonech (York University, OUA)

• Emmy Fecteau (Concordia University, RSEQ)

• Lyndsey Janes (Mount Royal University, CW)

• Madison Laberge (Nipissing University, OUA)

• Isabelle Lajoie (University of Alberta, CW)

• Sophie Lalor (University of Saskatchewan, CW)

• Sarah-Maude Lavoie (McGill University, RSEQ)

• Chihiro Suzuki (Guelph University, OUA)

“We are thrilled to welcome these eight accomplished student-athletes to Creating Coaches and look forward to working with them during the next two seasons,” said Marin Hickox, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of women and girls’ hockey. “Creating Coaches is an important program to support and develop hockey’s next generation of leaders and we are grateful to the U SPORTS coaches who nominated this talented group.

“Girls who have been coached by a woman are more likely to transition into a coaching role at the end of their playing careers, and it is our intention that this program will positively influence the recruitment and retention of girls and women in leadership roles in the sport.”

Since its inception, Creating Coaches has included student-athletes from 16 U SPORTS women’s hockey programs and all four of its conferences.

“The eight student-athletes selected to join Creating Coaches are tremendous ambassadors for hockey and university sport in Canada,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, chief sport officer at U SPORTS. “We have already seen the positive impact that this program has had inspiring young girls in communities across the country and we are excited for Alexis, Chihiro, Emmy, Isabelle, Lyndsey, Madison, Sarah-Maude and Sophie to begin their coaching careers while continuing to represent their universities with pride as student-athletes.”

The Creating Coaches selection committee includes representation from Hockey Canada, U SPORTS, Hockey Canada’s Members and the Hockey Canada Foundation Board of Directors.

During National Coaches Week, Hockey Canada is celebrating the positive impact that coaches have on athletes in communities from coast to coast to coast, with #ThanksCoach resources and features shared here.

To learn more about Hockey Canada, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, X and Instagram.