Tag Archives: Sifters

Post #124 – 8/18/23 – Friday’s Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


Friday’s Sifters

It’s been a busy week with lots of activity. Here is what’s happening in today’s Sifters edition.

-Lots of last minute coaching and staff hires to announce.

-USA Hockey and Hockey Canada are battling it out in their Under-18 and Collegiate Team 3-game series in Lake Placid.

-The IIHF Women’s Division 1A World Championships are set to begin (finally) in China

-The NCAA Women’s and Men’s rules committee makes a tweak to video review

-Leadership changes coming for the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA)

Let’ get to it!

Staff news to announce at… Amherst, Augsburg, Franklin Pierce, Keene State, King’s College, Merrimack, Middlebury, MN-Duluth, UNH, Penn St. x 2, RPI, St. Cloud, Syracuse, and Vermont

August is usually a busy month for hiring announcements due to university budgets opening up for the new academic year. There seems to be about a 50/50 split between hiring announcements vs. open positions needed to be filled.

Here’s what I have this week… In the NCAA and on the Professional side

Amherst College and Head Coach Jeff Mathews has announced the hiring of Kaylain Kelly as an Assistant Coach. Kelly is a graduate and former captain of Worcester State.

Augsburg College and Head Coach Michelle McAteer has announced that former Wisconsin-Stevens Point Nicole Neuberger will be the new Graduate Fellow Assistant Coach.

Franklin Pierce has announced it is hiring for a Graduate Assistant Coach position.

Keene State College, a new D-III program starting in 24-25, is hiring its inaugural Head Coach to build the program.

Merrimack College has announced 2 new Assistant Coach hirings – Danielle Blanchard, former UMASS-Boston Head Coach and Yale/Plattsburgh Assistant. And Stephanie Wood, former Director of Hockey and Head Coach at Austin Prep high school and managing director at the Islanders Hockey Club.

Middlebury College and Head Coach Bill Mandigo announced the hiring of Emily McNamara as its new Assistant Coach. McNamara spent the last 11 seasons as the Head Coach at Hamilton College. She now returns to her alma matter for a 2nd tour of duty with Mandigo as an Assistant Coach.

With McNamara’s departure, Hamilton now needs a Head Coach.

King’s College has announced it is seeking applications for its 2 Graduate Assistant Coaches.

Minnesota-Duluth and Head Coach Maura Crowell has announced the hiring of Mark Breiter as its Director of Operations. Breiter spent the last season with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues as the Equipment Assistant Manager. Prior to his stint in St. Louis, from 2017-2022 he was the Equipment Manager for the MSU-Mankato Women’s Hockey Program.

The University of New Hampshire is seeking applications for Director of Women’s Hockey Operations.

Penn State and Head Coach Jeff Kampersal has promoted volunteer goaltending coach Ben Halford to the position of Assistant Coach and has named former RIT, Dartmouth, and Boston University operations manager Olivia Fox as Director of Hockey Operations.

RPI has announced it is seeking applications for a full-time Assistant Coach.

St. Cloud State University and Head Coach Brian Idalski has announced the hiring of ’06 Husky alum Billy Hengen as its new Assistant Coach. Hengen comes to St. Cloud after winning a MN Class AA State Title with Gentry Academy last season.

Vermont and Head Coach Jim Plumer announced the promotion of Alex Gettens to Associate Head Coach and the addition of Assistant Coach Victoria Blake. Blake comes to UVM after a 4-year assistant stint at Sacred Heart.

The Kitchener Rangers of the OHL have hired former Syracuse Defender Lindsay Eastwood as their Manager of Communications and Team Services.

The Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL have hired former Minnesota Gopher and US Gold Medalist Amanda Kessel as the inaugural participant in the new Penguins’ Executive Management Program. The program provides a one-year opportunity to work alongside executives within the Penguins partnership, marketing, communication and broadcast departments, as well as hockey operations.

Both groups will play the 3rd and final game tomorrow, Saturday in Lake Placid. The Under18’s play at 3pm with the Collegiate Select/Development group at 6pm.

Older Players A Factor?

  • Team Canada U-18s have a decidedly older group as compared to Team USA. Canada has only five 2007 born players while the US has 10 players born 2007 or earlier… eight 2007’s and two 2008’s.
  • All but 3 members of Team Canada’s U18 Team played last season at the oldest amateur age group allowed in each players’ respective province.
  • Of 24-rostered players, Team USA’s Select 18 team has 13 players that played at the USA Hockey Under 16 age group last season .
  • Canada’s Development Team has 8 players who have yet to play a NCAA game.
  • The USA Hockey Collegiate Select Team has 3 Graduate players, 12 Seniors, 0 Juniors, 6 Sophomores, and 1 incoming freshman.
  • In terms of accumulated NCAA points from last season… Team USA’s Collegiate Group is led by Yale Senior Elle Hartje with 52 total points, the D corps had 34 G’s, 121 A’s for 155 PTS. The Forward group had 176 G’s, 229 A’s for 405 PTS.
  • Canada’s Development Team is led by Clarkson Senior Forward Anne Cherkowski with 52 total points.

Shenzhen, China will play host the next weeks IIHF Women’s Division I Group A World Championships.

Austria, China, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Slovakia are participating countries. The tournament kicks off with Netherlands taking on Norway at 1pm local time.

Some countries will have live streams available. You can find the names of services HERE on the tournament home of the IIHF website.

There will certainly be NCAA players both past and current in this event. Once rosters are made public I’ll have a breakdown.

Last week, sighting ‘significant confusion’, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a recommendation from the Women’s and Men’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee where: “Having too many players on the ice when a goal is scored on the ensuing play has been removed from the list of plays that can be reviewed by video in NCAA men’s and women’s hockey for the 2023-24 season”.

“Despite attempted education during the 2022-23 season, rules committee members think the rule is better managed by the on-ice officials and should not be part of the instant-replay criteria,” reads the NCAA announcement.

The American Hockey Coaches Association is the official Ice Hockey coaches association recognized by the NCAA of women’s and men’s programs participating in divisions I and III.

Starting with the upcoming 2023-2024 season, The AHCA will add 2 new Vice President positions to its leadership structure of Officers. One VP of Women’s Issues and one VP for Men’s Issues.

These two positions will help serve as conduits between the women’s and men’s coaching body of Division I / III and key stakeholders within the NCAA, member conferences, conference commissioners, and various sport specific NCAA committees. In addition, these people will help streamline communication and participation in important initiatives for both sides of the game.

Joe Bertagna enters his final year as AHCA Executive Director, a position he has held for more than 30 years. Joe will step down and take on a media relations role in for the start of the 2024-2025 season.

The process to find a successor for the Executive Director position has begun.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #121 – 8/11/23 – Friday’s Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


Friday’s Sifters

Coaching/Staff News At Bemidji x 2, King’s, Mercyhurst, St. Mary’s, Suffolk, ECAC Hockey

As expected there has been a late head coaching position open up, this time in D-III. There will probably be more movement on the D-I Assistant Coach side of things in the coming weeks as well. Here is what I have for this week.

Bemidji… Has 2 position announcements… In addition to announcing the program has posted its position for a 4th coach, Coach Scanlan has named Amber Fryklund Associate Head Coach. This marks Fryklund’s second tour of duty with the Beavers as she spent 9 years as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach from 2011-2019. You can read more on Amber’s hiring HERE. It’s nice to have you back in the game Amber!

Mercyhurst… Has searching for it 3rd Assistant Coach position.

King’s College… Has announced its new Head Coach – Josh Hoff. You can read more about his hiring HERE.

St. Mary’s (MN)… Will be looking for a new Head Coach as Sarah Murray has stepped down to take the Head Coaching position of the Shattuck St. Mary’s U19 Team.

Suffolk… Has announced former Boston University Assistant Coach Abby Ostrom as its new Head Coach. Abby takes over for Taylor Wasylk who left to become the Head Coach at Lindenwood University.

ECAC Hockey… ECAC Hockey is seeking applications for its Digital Media Internship. You can read more about the position and application process HERE.

In Other Coaching News… On the D-I men’s side, Colorado College has hired former Ohio State Women’s Assistant Coach Emily West. West, who played at Minnesota, helped the Buckeye’s to its first NCAA title in 2022. You can read more about her hiring HERE.

The Rochester Americans… Former Cornell standout Alyssa Gagliardi has hired by the Rochester Americans of the AHL as a Development Coach.

USA Hockey / Hockey Canada National Team Programs Underway… I was at both events this past week. USA Hockey has been using the Olympic Training facilities in Lake Placid – and what a renovation they did to the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena and the 1932 rink. For those who haven’t been to LP in a while, there has been major – to the tune of over $100 million – in renovations to both arenas. Herb Brooks arena is now a regulation sized sheet of ice with brand new red colored chair-backed seats and a new scoreboard. The 1932 rink has all brand new blue chair-back seats and looks very sharp. The Old Scoreboard with the USA 4 URS (Russia) 3 from 1980 is now on full display in the lobby of the arena.

Hockey Canada is using the brand new 1,200 seat Canada Games Park Arena. A 2 sheet, multi purpose facility that was built for conjunction with the Canada Winter Games (think Olympic Winter Games but only in Canada) on the Brock University Campus.

Union Dutchmen/Women No More… Union College will now be called the Union College Garnet Chargers. New Logo Below:

Labor Day Weekend you could say is the unofficial weekend to kick off the 23-24 hockey season. And there will be plenty of events happening so college coaches can get eyes on all the new teams.

The North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) will host its 23rd annual Labor Day Tournament. A total of 84 teams in the U14/U15, U16/U18, and U19/U22 age divisions will attend.

Premiere Ice Prospects will hold its 3rd annual (I think) Labor Day Girls Fest in Pittsburgh. This years team list hasn’t been made public yet, but if last year is any indication, we’ll upwards of 65+ teams in 3 age groups.

North of the border in Ontario the Etobicoke Dolphins are hosting an exhibition series at the U15, U18, and U22 levels. 30 teams, 10 in each age group will attend.

The National Girls Hockey League will host its Dawg Daze of Summer Invitational the weekend prior to Labor Day, Aug 25-27 in Connecticut.

Players… with the 23-24 season almost here, it’s important that you check your email! And check the ‘JUNK’ folder too!

You don’t want to miss a note from a college coach – so check it early and often. Especially if you’re sending emails to schools in preparation for future events that you’ll be at.

Time is one of those things you can’t get back. And at this time of year, recruiting can move lightning fast sometimes. If coaches send you an email, it’s for a reason. Get in the habit of checking your email at least once a day if not more. I can assure you, the quicker you reply to an email from a coach, the better that coach is going to feel about you as a potential recruit. Coaches don’t want to deal with players who are always delayed in their reply.

So check your email often and reply as soon as you are able!

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #117 – 8/4/23 – Friday’s Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


Friday’s Sifters

Coaching/Staff News At Harvard, Minnesota, Northeastern, MN-Duluth, Post, Syracuse, St. Olaf, Utica,

Harvard… Has named ’13 alum Laura Bellamy Head Coach. Bellamy returns to Harvard as one of the most decorated Crimson goaltenders in program history. She departs MN-Duluth after 8 season on staff, most recently serving as Associate Head coach.

Minnesota… Has posted looking for a Director of Women’s Hockey Operations.

Northeastern… Has hired Melissa Piacentini as an Assistant Coach. She has spent the past 5 seasons as the programs Director of Operations.

MN-Dulth… With Bellamy’s departure to Harvard, MN-Duluth now has an assistant coaches spot to fill.

Post University… Is searching for a part-time assistant coach.

Syracuse… Is looking for a volunteer Assistant/Goalie Coach.

St. Olaf College… Has posted its position for a full-time Assistant Coach.

Utica College… Has hired ’05 alum Melissa Lomanto

It’s a big week as both USA Hockey and Hockey Canada start their respective U18 and 18 & Over (let’s call them) national summer programs.

USA Hockey will hold its National Festival Aug. 7-12 in Lake Placid, NY. You can find the link to the Festival home ➡️ HERE.

Hockey Canada is hosting its National Women’s Program Summer Showcase in St. Catherine’s, Ontario Aug. 9-14. You can find HC’s event home link right ➡️ HERE. Add’l links for schedule’s etc.. are a little tricky to find, but are at the top of the page.

Finland’s U18 team will take a part of Hockey Canada’s U18 camp while Sweden’s U18 Team will do the same but in the US with Team USA.

I believe inter-squad camp games will be streamed live for both events. You can find USA Hockey’s streaming platform HERE. HC usually provides a link for game streams HERE.

Extras

August is usually a pretty quiet time in the college hockey world, say outside of recruiting that is.

This year however, there is a lot of movement on the coaching side of things. Harvard just named its Head Coach and that will have a domino effect most likely. In D-I, a lot of programs still seem to be in need of hiring a 4th coach.

And there always seems to be a late head-coach departure as well, or has been the case in years past, just prior to the season starting.

But with each passing week, we know the college hockey season is getting closer.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #114 – 7/21/23 – Friday’s Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


Wednesday’s Post Sparked Some Feedback

Happy Friday everyone. Before we get going with our Friday Sifter’s, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who sent a note about Wednesday’s post about… is there a ‘Best’ type of program or path. All of it was very positive and very insightful. Comments ran the gamut from outlining what ‘The Best’ type program should look like, to parents who admittedly were at this exact crossroad of which path to take when their daughter was coming up the ranks.

So, for those who haven’t had the chance to read Wednesday’s post yet, just click HERE.

There will be more to post about on this subject There are many questions and angles to consider. So, stay tuned!

Now, on to our Friday’s Sifters post.

Friday’s Sifters

Coaching/Staff News At Vermont, Union College, Sacred Heart University, and New England College

Vermont… Is in need of an Assistant Coach. The position is their 2nd Assistant.

Sacred Heart University… Has hired former Quinnipiac netminder and 2020 graduate Abbie Ives. You can read more about her hire HERE.

Union College… Has posted for its 3rd Assistant Coach position.

New England College… Is looking to hire a Graduate Assistant Coach for the 23-24 season.

Conference Schedules Announced

Hard to think given July isn’t over yet, but 3 of the 5 D-I conferences have announced their schedules for the coming 23-24 season. You can see them with links below:

Extras

Hockey East Fills Supervisor of Officials Vacancy… Long-time official Dr. Derek Zuckerman has been hired as the Hockey East Women’s Supervisor of Officials. With over 20 years experience as an on-ice official in both the ECAC and Hockey East, Zuckerman brings a storied career with 6 NCAA D-I Frozen Four along with 4 Championship game assignments. You can read more on his hiring HERE.

College Hockey Season Not So Far Off… Speaking of conference schedules, July will end before we know it, and August will be here. Once August hits, we know college hockey is just a few short weeks away. New Student Orientation for some schools will start as early as the Aug. 18/19 weekend. NCAA Rules allow teams to begin practices with coaches on the ice once the first day of school begins. A quick check finds that Bemidji State University seems start classes the earliest – Monday August 21st – a mere 4.5 weeks away.

2023 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women’s Face-Off Classic… Just announced today, the University of St. Thomas will take on Minnesota State Mankato on Nov. 9 , 2023 at the Maple Grove Ice Arena. The annual game is played to raise awareness for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, MN. For more info just click HERE.

Hockey Canada U-18 News… HC 🇨🇦 has announced its U-18 Selection Camp practice schedule which you can find HERE. Finland will once again join Canada for practices and some games.

IIHF World Girls’ Hockey Weekend Set… The weekend of Oct. 7-8 has been designated the IIHF’s World Girls’ Hockey Weekend this year. You can learn more about the event HERE.

Take The Ice… A documentary about the NWHL is coming to AppleTV on July 25th. Knew nothing about it until I saw the post on my Twitter feed. Should be very interesting given what has taken place over the past few weeks. You can get more info HERE or can watch the trailer ⬇️

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #112 – 7/17/23 – Monday’s Sifters + A Little Extra:

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


A Lot Going On

There is a lot to get to. Coaching hires, USA Hockey & Hockey Canada news, as well as a little extra – so we’re going to dive right in.

Let’s get to it.

Coaching Hires

Merrimack… Has named former UMASS-Boston Head Coach Danielle Blanchard as one of its Assistant Coaches.

Minnesota… Brad Frost has rounded out his staff. Back to the college ranks as one of coach’s Frost’s Assistant Coaches is Mitch Baker. The former assistant coach at Union College has been the U-19 team Head Coach at Shattuck St. Mary’s for the past 2 seasons. Also joining Frost’s staff is Greg “Boom” May who will serve as an Associate Head Coach. May was the men’s Head Coach at D-III Augsburg College for 2 seasons. Jessica Scott has had the ‘interim’ tag removed and is now a Full-Time Assistant Coach.

St. Michael’s College… Has named Kevin Salinas it’s first ever full-time assistant coach. Salinas comes to St. Mike’s after working with the Lawrence Viking’s women’s program during their first two years of existence in the NCHA. You can read more on his hiring HERE.

Curry College… Head Coach Kelly Rider announced the hiring of new Assistant Coach Rebecca Taylor. Click HERE to read more on Taylor’s appointment.

Elmira College… Has hired former SUNY-Potsdam Head Coach Greg Haney. Greg was a former D-I Assistant Coach at Lindenwood before taking over the Potsdam program. You can read more on Haney’s hiring HERE.

Plymouth State University… Has opened a national search for a new Head Coach after Mollie Fitzpatrick stepped down to pursue other endeavors.

USA Hockey & Hockey Canada News

There is lots to report from USA Hockey and Hockey Canada.

On the USA Hockey Front…

  • The USA Hockey U-15 National Development Camp ended last week in Oxford, Ohio with 215 players taking part. You can see the list of camp participants and player stats HERE.
  • The USA Hockey U-18 Select Camp get’s underway today with each team getting in a 1-hour practice and game. A group of 32-players will be named at the end of camp to move on to the August National Festival help in Lake Placid, NY.
  • Full-Time Scouting Position… USA Hockey is seeking applicants for its Women’s National Team Head Scout. You can find the job description and posting HERE. Current Providence Head Coach Matt Kelly last held this position leading up to the 2018 Gold Medal which Team USA won.

While north of the border, Hockey Canada…

  • Katherine Henderson, former Head of Canada Curling, has been hired as Hockey Canada’s new President and CEO. You can read more on her hiring HERE.
  • Hockey Canada announced earlier this weekend its player pool of attendee’s and camp schedule for the National Under-18 and National Development Teams. You can find the U-18 Camp schedule HERE and Camp Roster HERE. The National Team Roster of players can be found HERE. Unlike the US, it appears Hockey Canada has already selected its Development Team Roster.
  • As I suspected, Hockey Canada’s Under-18 and National Development Team Camp will be held in Ontario. St. Catherines, Ontario at Canada Games Park.
  • Also taking part in Hockey Canada’s U-18 Camp will be a group from Finland. This has been something Hockey Canada has done before.

Sifter Extras

Recruiting Events Coming Up

The last 2 weeks of July will be a busy one for college coaches. Here are some of the remaining July events coaches will be out at:

  • USA U-18 Select Camp, July 16-22 (schedule + Live Stream Link… must pay
  • NAE July College Exposure Showcase, July 17-19
  • Beantown WKND #1 – College Super Series, July 21-23 (schedule)
  • NAE July Development & Showcase, July 24-26
  • East Coast Wizard Summer Showcase, July 27-30, (schedule)
  • Beantown WKND #2, U19 & 2007/2008, July 28-30
  • MN Os Prospects Weekend, July 28-30

Additional Coaches Pool?

  • With the closure of the PHF, could there be a new pool of ex-pro players ready to jump on some of these 4th coaching positions at the D-I level?
  • Speaking of 4th coaches… we’re beginning to see some of them are on the road recruiting.

IIHF Division 1-A World Championships Scheduled to begin Aug. 20

  • The IIHF Div. 1-A World Championships are set to kick off August 20th in Shenzhen, China. You can find schedules HERE.

Robert Morris Announces 23-24 Roster…

  • Robert Morris University Head Coach Logan Bittle has announced the Colonials’ roster last week for the 23-24 season. As you may recall, RMU shut both its women’s and men’s hockey programs down citing budget constraints in the Spring of 2021. Ultimately, the programs have been reinstated and Bittle has been hard at work rebooting the program. 9 incoming freshmen, 9 transfers, and 6 current members of the program from when it was shut down makeup the 24-player roster – which you can get right HERE.

Assumption University Greyhounds Announce Inaugural Schedule…

  • Looks like the Greyhounds have their 23-24 schedule posted. Beyond conference games in the NEWHA, they have non-conference games vs. RIT x 2, Dartmouth, Holy Cross x 2 (The Battle of Worcester… I just made that up. I’ll give them license to use if they want though), and RPI.

ECAC Tweaks Conference Playoff Format + Announces Conference Schedule…

  • ECAC Hockey released its 132-game conference slate of games July 11 including a new women’s playoff format to mirror what the men used last season. The first ECAC contest takes place October 13th when Harvard travels to play Dartmouth.
  • The ECAC playoffs will now include all 12 teams up from 8. Seeds 1-4 get a first round bye while seeds 5-8 host seeds 9-12 in one-game playoff the weekend of Feb 23-24. Winners of the first round will travel to play seeds 1-4 in a best two-out-of-three quarter-final series March 1-2 with quarter-final round winners moving on to the ECAC Championship Weekend March 8-9 hosted by the highest remaining seed. You can read the full release HERE.

Summer College Hockey Fix…

  • According to the Mercyhurst Lakers Twitter account and the schedule banner at the top of their website homepage, the Lakers’ European Summer Tour games will be steamed. Games are scheduled for July 25, 26, 28, and 29. All times listed are 6pm… we’re just not sure if that is Swedish time or EST. I’ll find a link and confirm game times if possible.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 5th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #106 – 7/7/23 – Friday’s Sifters + A Little Extra:

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


Friday’s Sifters

D-III Positions Open Up, NGHL News, Hockey East Facility Get’s An Upgrade and More, Teams Get It Done In The Classroom, + A Little Extra

Two D-III Head Coaching positions opened up this week. The National Girls Hockey League welcomes new teams, a Hockey East program get’s a rink upgrade.

Plus, several NHL Development Camps took place this week with NCAA female D-I coaches taking part.

July is shaping up to be one busy month on the recruiting trail for NCAA coaches.

Let’s get to it.

Coaching/Staff News At RMU, UCONN, Univ. of New England, SUNY-Cortland, SUNY-Potsdam

Robert Morris University… Head Coach Logan Bittle has announced the hiring of Operation Coordinator Patrick Barry to round out his coaching and support staff. Barry previously worked in operations and video with Penn St. You can read more on his hiring HERE.

UCONN… Has hired a new Director of Women’s Hockey Operations and Equipment Matt LaMalfa.

University of New England… Long time University of New England Head Coach David Vendetti has resigned according to a press release put out by the school. A national search for his replacement will be conducted.

SUNY-Cortland… Has posted for its part-time Assistant Coach position.

SUNY-Potsdam… Has announced a national search for a new Head Coach.

FEIA Joins National Girls Hockey League

The NGHL has a new hockey program joining for this coming 23-24 season – Fort Erie International Academy. Located in Fort Erie, Ontario just south of Niagara Falls, the FEIA girls hockey program enters its full 2nd season. Designed as a traditional boarding school, FEIA aims to attract International students in grade 6-12.

The NGHL provides opportunities for girls from the U10 to U19 age group and in the Tier I and Tier II competitive categories. The NGHL has teams literally from coast to coast.

For more information on the NGHL or the FEIA just click the links ➡️ NGHL ➡️ FEIA

Merrimack Get’s New Rink Upgrades

A multi-million dollar gift from Richard H’15 and Susanna Gallant will pave the way for transformative renovations to Lawler Rink. A new luxury pavilion with premium seating at the north end of the rink, enhanced luxury suites, modernized game day club experience, and new designated areas for media, broadcasts and the Merrimack Marching Band. There is a short video of what the future renovations will look like below:

Conference Academic Award Season

We know it’s July and the academic year has been over for a few months, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t news to share. Several D-I conferences have announced All-Academic Team selections.

Conferences have their own academic award criteria, but it’s usually some form of players having a 3.0 or better for 2 or more semesters.

Vermont and Merrimack led Hockey East with 23 selections each.

Yale was tops in the ECAC with 27 selections.

Mercyhurst lead the way in College Hockey America with 26 selections.

You can read each conference’s All-Academic Team release here: ➡️ Hockey East ➡️ ECAC ➡️ CHA

Extras

NCAA Coaches Have An Important July Ahead Of Them

D-I and D-III coaches have a lot at stake this month. With player commitments being made and multiple high profile events taking place mid-month, like USA Hockey’s Under 18 Select Camp or some of the Canadian Provincial Under 18 evaluation camps, July is proving to be a busy but important time of year.

With June 15 in the rear-view mirror and the first wave of recruits making commitment decisions, programs are constantly having to re-adjusting their recruiting priorities. Especially at his time of year given the recruiting cycle, sometimes a player who didn’t start out as high on the list, now either winds up there because teams didn’t get the recruit they wanted or, they have a short window of time to prove they deserve to be there.

And as decisions/commitments happen in D-I, D-III recruiting is greatly impacted. D-III coaches are making commitments themselves with players who know a D-III school is what they want. Subsequently, players that were ‘keeping the D-I dream alive’ and get told ‘NO’ from the D-I schools they were holding out for, could lost a spot at D-III.

It will be a very interesting few weeks as coaches will be using these upcoming events to make some important recruiting decisions.

Here’s just a partial list of events taking place this July that are likely to have a big impact on recruiting decisions.

  • July 11-16, Alberta Provincial U18 Camp
  • July 13-16 Ontario Provincial U18 Camp
  • July 16-22, USA U18 Select Camp (Oxford, OH – Miami University)
  • July 17-19, NAE – North American Elite July Showcase (Haverhill, MA)
  • July 20-23, British Columbia U18 Provincial Camp
  • July 28-30, Beantown Showcase (Marlborough, MA, NESC)

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #102 – 6/30/23 – Friday’s Sifters:

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


Coaching News, Changes To The NLI, NCAA Guide For PSA’s

As has been the case for several weeks in a row, there is some coaching news to update.

The National Letter of Intent (think scholarship form players sign) program is rumored to be making some changes as is the Transfer 60-day window timeline.

And speaking of changes, the NCAA Eligibility Center Guide for Prospective Student-athletes has been updated. We provide a 23-24 FAQ to read or download.

I break it all down for you below. Let’s get to it.

Coaching News At Colgate, UMD, MCLA, Marian, and A Former Friar Gets Behind ECHL Bench

Looks like more programs at the D-I level are advertising for their 3rd assistant coach positions, although most aren’t calling it a ‘3rd assistant coach’. The NCAA approved a 4th coach earlier this passed winter while removing the ‘volunteer coach’ designation. It will be interesting to see how head coaches use this position.

Colgate has announced it is looking for a 3rd Assistant Coach / Director of Operations.

Minnesota-Duluth has announced its looking to fill two positions: Assistant Coach and Director of Women’s Hockey Operations.

MCLA, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a new D-III program is seeking applications for its assistant coaching position.

Marian University has advertised for its open Head Coach position.

Bob Deraney, Former Providence Friar Women’s Head Coach, has been named Assistant Coach of the Worcester Railers of the ECHL. The Railers are an affiliate of the New York Islanders. You can read more on his hiring HERE.

Changes to the NLI Coming + Transfer Window Timeframe

The National Letter of Intent (NLI) program is rumored to be undergoing some changes which will take effect for the 2024-2025 season and would impact all athletic scholarship award winner.

As reported by The Athletic earlier this week, these changes are aimed at loosening the penalties for athletes when they request to be released from their NLI under certain conditions.

The NLI Program is managed by the NCAA while the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) provides governance oversight of the program. Athletes receiving institutional athletics related aid (athletic scholarship money) from a D-I or D-II school, receives paperwork from the NLI program which must be signed by the student and guardian/parents if under the age of 18.

The purposed changes are:

  1. No NLI penalty if the signee requests their release as the result of a head coaching change
  2. No NLI penalty if the signee completes at least one academic semester or quarter at the institution of their choice
  3. Additionally, four-year transfers will be able to sign a NLI after entering the transfer portal. This is not a requirement to transfer, signing a NLI would trigger a recruiting ban, meaning other schools would not be allowed to make contact once the player has signed with an institution.

The 60-Day Transfer Timeframe Is Changing… The 60-day timeframe window student-athletes had to notify its athletic administration and coaches about entering the Transfer portal could be decreasing to 30 days. The NCAA has viewed the data from this past athletic season and it appears, 60 days is not needed. The D-I council made the 30-day recommendation which will be voted on In October. You can read more about the Transfer window change HERE.

NCAA Guide for Prospective-Student Athletes Available

It’s always incumbent upon recruits and their families to know the NCAA process as a prospective student-athlete.

So, to help, here is a great read which every recruit and parent should look through.

It’s called the NCAA Guide For The College Bound Student-Athlete. It’s your one-stop-shop recruiting booklet that covers just about anything you might be wondering about relative to becoming a D-I or D-III NCAA hockey player.

The 23-24 version is not out yet. But there is a FAQ which is quite helpful . You can find both below and can download the PDF’s as well.

The 22-23 Guide can. be found there as well, also with the PDF file to download.

Enjoy!

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #99 – 6/21/23 – Tier I Girls Conversation Coming

USA Hockey get’s the conversation going for Girls Tier I this July

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


USA Hockey To Hold ‘Girls Tier I Community Conversation’ In Oxford

In conjunction with the U18 Select Camp this July in Oxford, Ohio, USA Hockey will gather important stakeholders within the Tier I level of Girls Hockey to get the conversation going.

From July 15-16, discussions will take place around the topics of hockey development, rules and regulations, National Championships, and club support. Also included will be brainstorming sessions and a presentation from the U-18 National Team Coaching Staff on player development.

Kudos to USA Hockey for hosting such an event. The hockey world is pretty small, the women’s side of the game smaller.

Nothing moves forward or get’s solved without dialogue. And the U-18 Select Camp provides a perfect opportunity to gather coaches and administrators as well as club personnel – who care about the direction of the game and how to improve it.

I’ll keep you updated about what we hear.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #96 – 6/16/23 – Friday’s Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


Coaching News, Whitehouse Travels, Swedes Check, New Commish

It’s been an eventful week.

Coaching hires and promotions have been announced, Wisconsin went to the Whitehouse, Sweden is expanding it’s body checking rule, and the ECAC hired a new commissioner.

Let’s get to it.

Coaching News At Vermont, Lindenwood, and Princeton

University of Vermont Assistant Coach Alex Gettens has been promoted to Associate Head Coach. Alex will begin his 6th year this upcoming season.

Reah Coad, former Head Coach of the Buffalo Beauts of the PHF, has been named an Assistant Coach at Lindenwood University. Coad spent 2 years behind the bench for the Beauts. You can read the release HERE.

Princeton has hired a new assistant coach, Melissa Samoskevich. Samoskevich comes from Quinnipiac where she was the Director of Player Development and Operations while also playing for the Connecticut Whale of the PHF. Prior to her time at Quinnipiac, Samoskevich previous coached at Penn St.

Wisconsin Almost Misses Whitehouse Visit

Darn E-mail spam folders!

The 2023 National Champs the Wisconsin Badgers finally made the trip to the Whitehouse last week to be honored on College Athlete Day. Strangely, the trip almost never happened.

Read the crazy story HERE.

Sweden Expands Checking Rule

The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation is expanding its checking rules in women’s hockey.

In addition to the SDHL and NDHL, checking/body contact will now be allowed in Sweden’s four younger regional Junior women’s leagues as well.

86% of players surveyed reported having a positive experience with the new checking rules that were introduced for the 2022-2023 season. The new rules allowed intentional body-contact along the boards or if players were skating in the same direction but no opposite directional open-ice hits were allowed.

This past season, The NCAA standard on body contact, not so much changed, but was an area of focus and more was allowed. The NCAA rules don’t allow for intentional body contact as Sweden’s rule do, but the NCAA game is definitely getting more physical.

You can read the full story on Sweden’s decision HERE.

The ECAC Lands New Commissioner

Doug Christiansen has been named Commissioner of ECAC Hockey. He takes over for Commissioner Stephen Hagwell who has held the commissioner’s post since 2005.

As a former Union College Men’s hockey player (1998-2002) and most recently in his role as Deputy Commissioner of the United States Hockey League (USHL), Christiansen brings a vast hockey background to the position.

You can read more on his hiring HERE.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #95 – 6/14/23 – D-I Recruiting Kicks Into High Gear For 2025 Class

D-I Coaches Begin Communication with Players Entering Grade 11 This Fall Starting Thursday

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey


Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

  • Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap


June 15 Arrives Thursday, What to Know

Well, so much for my shorter post idea 😂.

Longer post… but worth the read.


Tomorrow Thursday, June 15 will be a very busy day for the 44 D-I hockey programs as the recruiting cycle begins for the 2025 class. It will also be a busy and exciting day for hundreds of players across the globe as they begin their quest to play NCAA D-I hockey.

NCAA recruiting rules state D-I coaches my initiate contact with recruits for the first time via phone, email, text, direct social media message, etc. Coaches are now able to have recruiting conversations with recruits and family members as well as make official verbal scholarship or non-scholarship offers to join their program.

As exciting as this time of year can be for players and families, it can also bring a lot of stress and anxiety – both for those who are engaged in the process and for those who are not – but want to be. So with, June 15 less than 24-hours away, here a few things to keep in mind so you don’t drive yourself bonkers.

  • All Is Not Lost
  • It’s A Numbers Game
  • Do Prepare
  • Your Situation Is Not Anyone Else’s
  • January or February Could be More Important

All is not lost if you don’t get a phone call

Just because you didn’t get a call on June 15, does not – in any way – mean your D-I dream is dead.

Far from it in fact. Players make it to the NHL undrafted every season–Last night’s Con Smythe Stanley Cup winner as an example! There are many players in every recruiting class, who wind up playing at a D-I school that never got a call on June 15.

So while they may not have gotten a call on that day, they stayed patient, focussed on the process, and worked on their game. The only thing not getting a call means, is you have a bit more work and developing to do. So keep the process in perspective as well as your own development. Sometimes the process takes time.

Every D-I spot doesn’t get committed on June 15, or even Feb. 15 for that matter. Recruiting is one of those living, breathing entities that can change in a heartbeat. Coaches get a ‘NO’ from a recruit and it can change the whole trajectory of their process. It’s also not uncommon for coaches to hold spots free so they can see how players develop over the season. You may not have gotten a call, but you may be on some coaches list and are being talked about as a player to keep watching.

Coaches usually have a pecking order to their recruiting lists and will spend time talking with their priority recruits first. There are only so many coaches who are allowed to make phone calls due to NCAA rules, and there is only so much time in the day. It may take a day or two or three for a coaching staff to plow through all of the calls they need to make.

It’s a bit of a numbers game

More players could get calls this year. Why?

The 5th year COVID grad transfer player goes away in 2025. That means an extra 90-100-ish roster spots will open up and have the opportunity to be filled by graduating High School seniors or PG’s.

When you run the numbers, an average recruiting class is 6 recruits per team. So, the 2025 recruiting class could potentially be at about 264 incoming first year players give or take, 44 teams x 6 players per team = 264. An influx of over 35% more first-year NCAA players.

There are only so many D-I prospects and most schools overlap in calling the same ones. So, how many recruits does a school need call in order to commit its class of 6 players? Great question. I’ve worked at a variety of institutions and I can tell you some years our program has had to call 40 and in others it’s been over 100. But keep in mind there is quite a bit of overlap with schools calling the same player.

There are a lot more players than there are available D-I spots. It’s competitive and you really do need to be in the upper echelon of the talent pyramid to play at the highest level.

If you expect to get some calls, do prepare

There is nothing worse for a coach when talking to a recruit, and it’s a one-sided conversation with the coach doing all the talking. If you anticipate getting some calls, do prepare to talk-back and engage! Have some questions prepared to ask. Have some answers prepared you can speak to if you get questions like, what are you looking for in a school? Do you know what you want to study? When do you see yourself making a decision?

Do return calls, emails, and texts if you get them – even if you aren’t interested in the school. How you handle your hockey affairs says a lot about who you are. So, do take the time to reply. And it’s okay to say you aren’t interested. Sometime a ‘No’ in the recruiting world to a coach, is as good as a ‘yes’ because it allows some focus to come into play. And really – thats a lot of what coaches and players/families are looking for, right? Info so you can know where to focus.

The important piece here, is to do some homework and be prepared.

Don’t compare your process to anyone else but you

Your teammates are getting calls, going on visits, and making decisions. You on the other hand, aren’t doing any of those things… the only thing you’re getting, is bitter at your teammates.

As a player, you start to question things, over-analyze situations, and can talk yourself into a mental tizzy. The reality is, the more you try to dissect why someone is getting the love, and you aren’t, the worse you’ll make yourself feel. And you’ll never know the answers you’re wondering about.

So don’t compare your teammates’ situation to yours. There is a lot that goes into why a coaching staff may want to recruit a certain player. It could be the way the shoot, their position, skill, size, how good of a student they are, financial reasons–you name it. What you can do, is compare yourself to the day before. How did you make your situation or you as a student or as a player – better today than yesterday.

Change Your Mindset

Don’t worry about June 15. Worry about January or February 15 of your grade 11 year instead. Here’s why.

You don’t get a call on June 15 – big WOOP.

If February 15 has come and gone with no calls in your grade 11 year, may be its time to reassess your college hockey goals and start returning those emails, texts, and voicemails from D-III schools.

The amount of growth a player can have between June and February is huge. That’s 7 months! As I said earlier, programs always seem to have some space (and some $$) on the their rosters so they can catch that later bloomer.

So, think about changing your mindset. Get rid of June 15 as the be-all end-all date of dates… focus on the growth you can have during your grade 11 year instead.

Bottom Line

June 15 is the start of something… but certainly not the end.

In most cases, it’s just the beginning of a 2 year time window from when a player could potentially arrive on campus.

Thats a long time for growth and development.

Keep the focus on you and your growth process while keeping all options open that come your way. Your mental health will thank you!

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is wch-pic-logo-header-circle-3-12-21.jpg

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.


NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

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