Howie Draper out as head coach of PWHL New York
Draper remains a Special Advisor for PWHL New York, but he is the first PWHL head coach to lose their position behind the bench after coaching a regular season game.
Today, the PWHL announced that PWHL New York and head coach Howie Draper have mutually agreed to a coaching change. This is the first change in a head coach in league history (after a coach had coached a regular season game) and it comes from the team that finished last in the standings with just five regulation wins in the 24-game inaugural season. Before the season began, PWHL Minnesota had a coaching change of their own, with Ken Klee replacing Charlie Burggraf.
Per the league release, Draper will remain with New York as a special advisor to support the Scouting Department. In other words, he is still involved with the team but will no longer be behind the bench or in the locker room.
Draper is returning to his former role as head coach of the University of Alberta women's hockey team, where he will have a close eye on USports prospects that could one day bolster the roster of PWHL New York (and other teams around the league).
Under Howie Draper, PWHL New York had five regulation wins and 12 regulation losses in a 24 game season. However, they were arguably the best special teams team in the league. Some big names to build around for that team but there's a lot of work to be done for team identity.
— Mike Murphy (@DigDeepBSB) May 11, 2024
Under Draper, PWHL New York was one of the best teams in the league on both the power play and penalty kill but the team struggled to outscore and out-chance the opposition at even strength. As a result of finishing last in the standings and accruing the necessary gold points, PWHL New York will have the first pick in the 2024 Draft which is expected to be Princeton University's Sarah Fillier.
This change behind the bench creates an opportunity for the New York franchise to reimagine and rebuild its identity after a disappointing inaugural campaign.. The current roster has plenty of star power and had extraordinary goaltending this year, but there is no doubt that the team was not greater than the sum of its parts. That is something that a coach needs to be able to do and, for whatever reason, we did not see it from the team in teal.
New York's record under Draper was 5-4-3-12 (26 points). They had a 24.4% success rate on the power play and an 88.6% success rate on the penalty kill – both were ranked second in the league.
Editor's Note: Updated for clarity – Draper is the first coach who had coached a PWHL game to lose their role.
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