CALGARY, Alberta (AP) 鈥� Hockey Canada is turning to a familiar face to oversee the next generation of its women’s team by naming Daniele Sauvageau as general manager on Wednesday.
The 64-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer reprises the role she held as GM and coach of Canada鈥檚 first gold medal-winning women鈥檚 team at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. And the hiring comes after Sauvageau won the PWHL Walter Cup in May as .
Sauvageau鈥檚 contract with Hockey Canada runs through the 2030 Games in France. And she will maintain her position with the Victoire through next season before joining Hockey Canada in a full-time role in also helping guide the women鈥檚 Under-18 and development teams.
鈥淛oining Hockey Canada as general manager of the National Women鈥檚 Program is a privilege,鈥� Sauvageau said. 鈥淲orking alongside the country鈥檚 best women鈥檚 hockey players and staff as we prepare for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games is an incredible opportunity and we have our sights set on showing the very best performance at every opportunity along the way.鈥�
Sauvageau replaces Gina Kingsbury, whose contract was not renewed after eight seasons. Among her first priorities are hiring a new coach after after six years this spring.
The moves come after in losing the gold-medal final to the United States at the Milan Games in February. The Canadians are also expected to enter a transitional phase with a much-needed injection of young talent to replace numerous veterans who are anticipated to retire before 2030.
Among the aging stars are 35-year-old captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who has yet to determine her future.
The U.S., meantime, has already made the transition to youth and featured an Olympic team that included seven players still in college.
Though Canada leads with 13 world hockey titles, the U.S. is second with 11 and has won seven of the past 10 tournaments. Canada also has a 5-3 edge over the Americans in Olympic gold medals.
鈥淲e need to develop not only the national team, but the rest of the country,鈥� Sauvageau said. 鈥淭remendous work has been done over the last years. But now it鈥檚 just a matter of, (with) the new landscape, to make sure that we are agile, accurate and on top of supporting the best athletes across the country.鈥�
Sauvageau, in 2025, became the first woman hall of fame inductee in the builder鈥檚 category. She鈥檚 a former Montreal police officer and was the first female coach in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League, serving as an assistant with the Montreal Rocket in 1999-2000.
She founded the University of Montreal women鈥檚 hockey team and founded a women鈥檚 hockey high-performance center in Verdun, Quebec.
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