Courtney Kessel leaves PWHL Boston Fleet in return to Princeton as head coach of women’s hockey team

By Canadian Press on June 23, 2025.

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.

The 35-year-old Kessel had a 27-19-8 record in Boston, including a Walter Cup Finals appearance in 2024, which the team lost to Minnesota in a decisive Game 5.

“It is bittersweet to move on from the Boston Fleet and the amazing people building that organization and the PWHL as a whole,” Kessel said. “This opportunity was the only one that could draw me away from where I was.”

From Toronto, Kessel played at New Hampshire, where she was a 2010 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the MVP of women’s college hockey. She also represented Canada at three world championships, including a gold-medal win in 2012.

She also has Hockey Canada coaching experience, serving as a senior team assistant in 2024 and head coach of the 2023 gold-medal winning Under-18 team.

The Fleet have undergone major changes this offseason. Star forward Hilary Knight left Boston to sign with the PWHL’s expansion team in Seattle. The Fleet also have an opening at assistant general manager after Meghan Turner was hired as Seattle’s GM.

“Courtney set the tone from Day 1 and elevated our group with her competitiveness, preparation, and care,” Fleet GM Danielle Marmer said. “She’s already established herself as an elite coach early in her career, and I know she’ll continue to raise the bar as the next head coach at Princeton.”

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

John Wawrow, The Associated Press

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