Latest news with #CaraGardnerMorey
New York Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
PWHL Vancouver names Brian Idalski first-ever head coach
PWHL Vancouver has named Brian Idalski as its first-ever head coach ahead of its inaugural season, the team announced Monday. 'Brian is a proven winner who knows our sport, the players, and has coached at the highest levels,' PWHL Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey said in a release. 'What stands out in Brian's experience is his ability to build and transform the programs he is a part of, from his work in professional leagues, at the Olympics, and turning collegiate teams into nationally ranked contenders. I'm excited that he will lead our incredible group in Vancouver and can't wait to see his vision and influence shape our foundation.' A PRESENCE on the bench 💪 Brian Idalski has been named the first Head Coach in team history! He brings 20 years of experience to the helm, most recently from St. Cloud State University women's hockey program. 📰 — PWHL Vancouver (@PWHL__Vancouver) June 23, 2025 Idalski was head coach of the St. Cloud State Huskies women's hockey team the past three seasons. He previously coached at the University of North Dakota for 10 seasons and the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point for five. He also coached the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays to two ZhHL championships and was head coach of the Chinese National Women's Team for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. Advertisement 'I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to join an organization and city like Vancouver and want to thank Cara and the league for their trust and belief in me,' Idalski said. 'The PWHL has had a huge impact on the global game, and to be a part of that — with expansion helping push it even further forward — is an unbelievable feeling. I've been associated with a lot of players across the PWHL, either coaching them personally or against them over the years, so this role brings me full circle with an eagerness to work with the league's world-class talent. The team that Cara has assembled is fantastic and I embrace the challenge that comes with our high expectations.' The PWHL, which launched in January 2024 with six teams, recently announced its expansion to Seattle and Vancouver and held its expansion draft on June 9. PWHL Vancouver will debut this fall at Pacific Coliseum, the former home of the WHL's Vancouver Giants and the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The 2025 PWHL Draft is set for Tuesday in Ottawa. (Photo of Brian Idalski at the 2022 Olympics: Xavier Laine / Getty Images)
CBC
23-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
PWHL Vancouver names Brian Idalski as 1st-ever coach
PWHL Vancouver named Brian Idalski as the expansion club's first head coach on Monday. Idalski, 54, spent the past three seasons as head coach of the St. Cloud State women's hockey program. "Brian is a proven winner who knows our sport, the players, and has coached at the highest levels," general manager Cara Gardner Morey said. "What stands out in Brian's experience is his ability to build and transform the programs he is a part of, from his work in professional leagues, at the Olympics, and turning collegiate teams into nationally ranked contenders. I'm excited that he will lead our incredible group in Vancouver and can't wait to see his vision and influence shape our foundation." He previously led the collegiate programs at Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2001-06) and North Dakota (2007-17) before serving as head coach of the Chinese professional team Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays from 2019-22. Idalski also coached the Chinese women's national team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. "I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to join an organization and city like Vancouver and want to thank Cara and the league for their trust and belief in me," Idalski said. "The PWHL has had a huge impact on the global game, and to be a part of that — with expansion helping push it even further forward — is an unbelievable feeling."
Washington Post
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Courtney Kessel leaves PWHL Boston Fleet in return to Princeton as head coach of women's hockey team
Princeton made it official on Monday in announcing Courtney Kessel's hiring as coach of the women's hockey team, a week after the two sides were finalizing the agreement. Kessel spent the past two years coaching the PWHL Boston Fleet and returns to Princeton where she spent four seasons, from 2019-23, as an assistant under Cara Gardner Morey. She now succeeds Gardner Morey, who left the Tigers in May upon being hired as general manager of the PWHL's expansion team in Vancouver .
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
PWHL Vancouver Prepares for Debut Season
Vancouver Watch On CTV Morning Live, PWHL Vancouver General Manager, Cara Gardner Morey talks preparations for their debut season this fall!
CBC
19-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Thunder Bay's Michela Cava 'really excited' to join PWHL Vancouver
Social Sharing Thunder Bay's Michela Cava says she's "really excited" to join PWHL Vancouver, and she welcomes the "stability of having a two-year contract." PWHL Vancouver announced on Tuesday that Cava and another forward, Tereza Vanišová, have signed two-year Professional Women's Hockey League Standard Player Agreements to join the team through the 2026-27 season. Cava, 31, told CBC Thunder Bay that she had "really good years" in Minnesota the past few seasons, but she felt it was time for a change. "After having really good conversations with the GM out in Vancouver [it] just seemed like the right fit for me and the time of my career to kind of get that stability of having a two-year contract," she said. "A lot of my good friends from Minnesota actually [have] already taken the expansion draft out there and I just think it's going to be a really good group and a really good culture in the locker room and that's something I'm really excited to join." Cava has won back-to-back Walter Cup titles as a member of the Minnesota Frost, with PWHL Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey saying she has proven herself as an outstanding player. "Michela has tremendous vision, and her elite playmaking will help our offense," Gardner Morey said in a news release. "She is also a proven winner as a member of five straight championship teams." Cava finished fourth in Minnesota scoring this season with 19 points, including nine goals and 10 assists in 30 games. Since joining the team as a 12th-round pick in the inaugural PWHL Draft, she has amassed 27 points (14G, 13A) in 54 games, elevating her offensive production in the playoffs with 13 points (7G, 6A) in 18 postseason contests. Cava split her NCAA tenure between the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota-Duluth and has been playing professionally since 2016-17. Her five straight championships count two Walter Cups, an Isobel Cup with the PHF's Toronto Six (2023), and overseas titles with the KRS Vanke Rays in Russia's ZhHL (2022) and Luleå in Sweden's SDHL (2021). Cava said she's excited about being part of hockey at the PWHL level. "I graduated over 10 years ago now but I've tried a bunch of different pro leagues and I just think it's incredible the success we've had bringing all the fans together just to kind of cheer on the eight teams," she said. "It's super cool to be a part of, and I think it's only going to keep getting better. And it's just cool for the young girls to be able to have something to look forward to and playing instead of just kind of going to college and then trying to figure out their career after that. "I just think it's very, very, very awesome for everybody involved, so it's so cool," added Cava.
