NEW YORK AND TORONTO – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced that Kori Cheverie of the Montréal Victoire, Carla MacLeod of the Ottawa Charge, and Troy Ryan of the Toronto Sceptres have been voted as the three finalists for the 2025 PWHL Coach of the Year award.
The PWHL Coach of the Year award is presented to the head coach whose contributions most impacted their team’s on-ice success throughout the regular season.
KORI CHEVERIE, MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE
Cheverie, a native of New Glasgow, NS, is a finalist for the award a second straight season after guiding Montréal to first place in the PWHL standings for the first time in team history with 53 points, powered by a 12-7-3-8 record. The Victoire held their first-place position since Jan. 29 with an offense that scored the second-most goals (77) and allowed the fewest (67) in the PWHL. They were the only team in the league to produce both a six-game winning streak (Jan. 17 to Feb. 15) and a four-game winning streak (Dec. 6 to Dec. 30). They led all teams with a .556 road record, tied for top marks on home ice at .622, and led the league with 12 one-goal wins which included a league-high seven beyond regulation. Montréal was the only team to lose no more than two straight games in regulation and no team had fewer than their five multi-goal losses.
CARLA MACLEOD, OTTAWA CHARGE
MacLeod, from Spruce Grove, AB, led Ottawa to their first-ever berth in the PWHL Playoffs, posting a 12-4-2-12 record for 44 points and a third-place finish solidified with an overtime victory on the final day of the regular season. The Charge’s 12 regulation wins tied for most in the league and is four more than their inaugural season total, representing the largest improvement year-over-year and achieved with a squad that boasted only two players among the league’s top 20 scorers. They were the only team to have two three-game winning streaks in regulation, and their four-game win streak on the road to close the season was the longest in the PWHL. Ottawa tied for first in game-opening goals (18), had the highest percentage of points by defenders (29.3%), tied for second in percentage of goals scored at even strength (78.9%), and scored a record four shorthanded goals.
TROY RYAN, TORONTO SCEPTRES
Ryan, who hails from Spryfield, NS, could become the league’s first two-time award recipient after helping Toronto secure a second straight top two finish with 48 points on a 12-3-6-9 record. The Sceptres tied for the league’s best home record, tied for the lead with nine multi-goal wins, shared the league’s longest win streak at six games (Feb. 1 to Feb. 23) and longest point streak at nine games (Jan. 25 to Feb. 23). The point streak propelled Toronto from last place to just two points out of first and coincided with a record nine straight games with a power play goal. Overall, Toronto’s special teams’ efficiency was a difference maker with a league-best power play unit (25.8%) that was seven percent better than the next ranked team, and a penalty kill that finished third (82.1%). The Sceptres were the only team not to concede a shorthanded goal.
A selection committee cast their votes for six regular-season PWHL awards, including Coach of the Year, along with the league’s First and Second All-Star Teams and an All-Rookie Team, between the conclusion of regular season and the commencement of playoffs. The three coaches that received the most voting points for Coach of the Year have been named finalists. Winners of all PWHL Awards will be announced on June 25 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Ottawa.
Last season, Ryan was the inaugural recipient of the Coach of the Year award, voted over finalists Cheverie and Boston’s Courtney Kessel.
