Macleod pumped to be a part of PWHL launch
Albertan a key cog in startup as head coach of Ottawa entry in six-team league
Carla Macleod is proud to be part of puck history.
As head coach of the Professional Women's Hockey League entry in Ottawa, the Calgarian is bursting over the chance to help build something big for the sport she dearly loves.
But she's also taking time out to savour the moments of being a key cog in the startup league.
“The other day, we stopped a drill we were doing and brought everyone in and just paused and said, `We just want you to know what a privilege it is for us coaches to be on the ice with all you high-calibre players,'” said Macleod amid the sport's stars such as Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner and Emerance Maschmeyer.
“So it's been really a treat as a coach to be involved at this level, and, in the same breath, I'm excited to help them grow and become better players and keep being the incredible humans that they are.”
It's a job she wasn't really expecting.
With things going strong for her as bench boss of the University of Calgary Dinos, Macleod thought she was living her dream job as late as September.
But the rise of the PWHL to further the ambition of fair play at the highest level of sports opened a gig for her in the nation's capital.
And it didn't take long for the 41-year-old Bishop Carroll and University of Wisconsin graduate to embrace the chance to further her career and join in on the newfound fun for women in hockey.
“It's just an opportunity to be a part of something incredibly special,” said Macleod, during these days of PWHL training camps before the inaugural campaign. “Hopefully, I can help continue to grow it and be a part of continuing the momentum.”
The puck drops on the inaugural PWHL season in early January. The regular season, which is proposed to be 24 games for each team and end in June, will then be followed by playoffs and a final format.
But for now, it's training camp — including a pre-season summit involving all six teams slated for Dec. 3-7 in Utica, N.Y. — to help each team pare down to 20 players.
“You can only imagine the level of excitement and the energy that's coming from everyone involved, players through staff,” Macleod said. “So it's been a lot of fun to this point, and I expected nothing less, in all honesty.”
The native of Spruce Grove, Alta., is a two-time Olympic gold medallist for Canada, who has long embraced coaching, even before she retired from playing in 2010.
“The game has been so good to me for my whole life,” said Macleod. “As a player, I got to explore a lot of different levels and opportunities and certainly embraced all of them and really enjoyed them. And for me when I retired, it wasn't so much a question of whether I was gonna coach. It was just whether or not I could make a career at it. And I was really fortunate to cross paths with some great people that believed in me as a coach, too.”
Macleod started as an assistant coach with the Mount Royal University Cougars and moved into the same role with Canada's under-18 squad and Japan's national team.
Then came a head role with the Edge School just outside of Calgary, coaching high-school hockey, before moving on to the Dinos and guiding the Czech Republic to its first medal (a bronze) at the 2022 IIHF women's championship.
“I've been really lucky to get some pretty incredible opportunities with Mount Royal, when I first started coaching in Calgary with Scott Rivett, and then it took me to Japan, and I was able to go to the Sochi Olympics with the Japanese women's national team,” said Macleod. “What a thrill that was, and what an incredible group.
“With the high school hockey for seven years, there was the dayto-day engagement that you get when working with high school student-athletes. Probably as a coach, that was my best learning ground.”
She was sad to leave the Dinos, especially given the early season timing of the call to the PWHL. But it's a summons she didn't dare resist.
“You've always dreamt that this league would become a reality, and we've actually pushed along the way to try to make it a reality,” said Macleod. “At the end of the day, all of us sitting in this position, whether it be as a coach or a player or staff member, nobody's done this before in our game. It's never been an option — not to this level.
“So I feel really fortunate. I don't take it for granted that I'm in this league. And I think I've found my right home here in Ottawa.”