Who Will Canada Select As Their Next General Manager For The Women's National Team?

Hockey Canada is on the hunt for Gina Kingsbury's replacement. That comes after Hockey Canada announced Kingsbury, who was the general manager of Canada's national women's team, and Troy Ryan, head coach of Canada's national women's team, would not be returning to the program.

It came following a disappointing 2025-26 season that saw Canada lose all eight match ups they had against the United States this season, including being swept at the Rivalry Series, World Championships, and Olympic Games. 

Canada has an abundance of domestic options to fill the role.

The first name to cross off the list of active PWHL GMs in Gina Kingsbury herself from the Toronto Sceptres. Next is San Jose's Troy Ryan, as Hockey Canada isn't waving goodbye to Ryan from the head coaching role to hire him back as the general manager. But there are strong Canadian general managers in the PWHL.

Seven of the league's general managers are Canadian, a list that beyond Kingsbury and Ryan also includes Pascal Daoust, Danielle Sauvageau, Mike Hirshfeld, Cara Gardner Morey, Manon Rheaume. 

Any of the group could handle the role, but some might have an edge. Sauvageau is coming off a Walter Cup title, and was Canada's first head coach to lead the national program to Olympic gold back in 2002. She was also the GM of Team Italy for the 2026 Olympics. Daoust has shown a vision for looking beyond a single season plan in New York, focusing on strong player identification through the draft, and on building year over year. Hirshfeld saw his Ottawa Charge advance to back-to-back Walter Cup finals and has worked with most of the top minds in women's hockey through the NHLCA Female Coaches Program. Gardner Morey and Rheaume are still carving their path in the PWHL, but bring a plethora of experience in program building.

The PWHL offers an abundance of hockey minds, but will Hockey Canada risk double dipping with the PWHL again after mixed reviews in the last cycle?

Kingsbury herself was an internal promotion from vice president of hockey operations to general manager. Looking internally, Cherie Piper could get the call after serving as the Director of Scouting for Canada's senior national and U-18 programs.

Could Caroline Ouellette consider the job in a new form of crossover, going from an assistant coach with Canada and the Montreal Victoire to be a GM? She knows a good chunk of the player pool.

Vicky Sunohara is another logical candidate for either Canada's coach or GM role. Sunohara is serving as the long time head coach at the University of Toronto, and was a coaching consultant with the Toronto Sceptres. She's also the head coach for Canada's U-18 team, meaning she has acute knowledge of the next generation of talent that will be tasked with turning Canada's program around.

If they promote someone from a similar role to what Kingsbury held internally, Dylan Rockwell could be a candidate.

Why not another Canadian hockey legend? In fact, with the connections of the selection committee, and the wealth of experience in Canada's player history, it would not be surprising if a former national team member got the job.

Is it too much to think the Toronto Maple Leafs would share Hayley Wickenheiser with Canada? Having the opportunity to appropriately scout women's hockey while serving in the NHL could be difficult. If the Leafs say no to Wickenheiser, would they say yes to Director of Player Development Danielle Goyette? What about other women serving assistant GM jobs in the NHL like Émilie Castonguay or Meghan Hunter?

Sami Jo Small could get a look. She's spent most of her non-playing career as a broadcaster, but she does her homework and knows the game, and she was the GM for the Toronto Furies in their final season of operation, and then President of the Toronto Six. Would they consider Rebecca Johnston, a four-year development coach with the Calgary Flames.

Canada's first national team superstar, Angela James was the GM of the Isobel Cup winning Toronto Six a few seasons back, and you don't have too look through too many rinks to not see James around the action.

Laura Schuler is another logical candidate for a role, although her job at the University of Minnesota-Duluth may not allow both to occu.

Don't expect Canada's search to end with the obvious candidates however, as the team will be looking for a new approach. Many would like to see Jessica Campbell's involvement, and if a job doesn't materialize in the NHL again this season, could she take on both roles for a season to bridge the gap? Hockey Canada has used bridge roles recently while moving forward from their recent scandals. 

Wherever the search committee lands, Hockey Canada is about to embark on a new era, where new players and ideas will be ushered into their women's national program as the country attempts to climb back to the top of the podium.