Steven O'Rourke was probably not a name many PWHL fans or pundits had on their bingo cards for potential head coaches. But when it came time for Meghan Turner to select her first head coach to guide the expansion PWHL Seattle franchise into the 2025-26 PWHL season, it was O'Rourke who got the call.
Seattle's coaching search was a priority according to Turner, who in her first media conference stated she was "moving quickly" through the process with the goal of having a coach in place in time for offseason roster building.
Due to his absence of coaching or working in any capacity in women's hockey, O'Rourke was a virtual unknown to many. From British Columbia, however, he has strong ties in the Pacific Northwest.
After being fired from his first head coaching job in more than a decade last season after only 30 games in the OHL, O'Rourke enters as a wildcard. He has a plethora of coaching experiences spanning two decades that he brings to Seattle, and will hope to utilize in guiding one of the most talent-laden rosters in the league to success.
Here's a more in depth look at O'Rourke's career and what brought him to PWHL Seattle.
A Look Into O'Rourke's Peculiar Firing In Oshawa
It's not common to see a head coach 30 games into a three-year contract, who has their team sitting first in their division fired. It raised significant red flags, but that was the exact case when Steven O'Rourke was fired by the OHL's Oshawa Generals on December 8, 2024.
O'Rourke has had very little to say publicly about his dismissal from Oshawa aside from telling media he didn't want to speculate the reasoning, was proud of the job he did, and that "nothing sinister" occurred. Oshawa's management backed up that sentiment. In an interview with Oshawa This Week, Oshawa Generals GM Roger Hunt pointed to on-ice "warning signs" in his team's play where management had challenged O'Rourke "to do some things differently." Hunt laid to bed any concerns over conduct having a factor in O'Rourke's firing saying "“He (O’Rourke) did nothing wrong, he never got in trouble. He’s a great man and a good coach and he’ll be back coaching before you know it."
The two major concerns the Generals had with O'Rourke's systems and results included a lacklustre penalty kill that sat 17th in the league when he was let go, and a leaky goals against that sat 13th. Both numbers improved after O'Rourke's firing, with Oshawa finishing with the 8th best penalty kill in the OHL and 3rd best goals against. Oshawa eventually fell in five games in the OHL finals to the London Knights.
What Others Say About Steven O'Rourke
Looking at the history of announcements O'Rourke has been involved with for hirings, you get an idea of how people view the long time men's hockey coach, primarily at the WHL and OHL levels.
PWHL Seattle general manager Meghan Turner selected O'Rourke from a large pool of candidates saying, "He brings a great hockey mind, a clear vision for the game, and a strong commitment to developing both our team and our players as individuals."
When he was brought in by the WHL's Prince George Cougars in 2016, then general manager Todd Harkins called O'Rourke, "a strong communicator" and that "he understands what it takes to relate to today’s player off the ice, while also helping them improve on the ice."
Plenty Of Men's Hockey Experience, But Limited As A Head Coach
As a player, Steven O'Rourke had a solid career. He played in the WHL with Tri-City and Moose Jaw, spent five seasons playing with the University of Lethbridge, played three years in England, and multiple seasons of pro hockey in North America in the ECHL and UHL. He was a seventh round draft pick of the NHL's New York Islanders in 1992.
After retiring following the 2005-06 season, O'Rourke immediately started working as a Development Coach with the Okanagan Hockey Academy where his son Ethan played. From there he was hired as an assistant coach with the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Heat. After two seasons in the AHL, O'Rourke stepped away to achieve his desire of working as a head coach taking on the role with the BCHL's Langley Rivermen for a single season in 2011-12 where Langley finished 13th out of the BCHL's 16 teams, before returning to coach his sons U-15 team at Okanagan Hockey Academy the following year.
After that, O'Rourke did not serve as a head coach until his 30 game stint with the Oshawa Generals in 2024-25. Between that time, O'Rourke served a variety from assistant coach to associate coach, and director of player development. He did serve short term head coaching roles with Team BC at various events.
One item lacking from O'Rourke's resume that has been discussed since his hiring is the absence of women's hockey experience. While the games are fundamentally similar, the nuances in rules and styles could be something O'Rourke takes time to adapt to, or he may bring fresh perspectives to Seattle that the rest of the league, conversely, must adapt to. O'Rourke certainly was around women's sports however, as his daughter Sophie, a 6-foot middle blocker, went on to play U Sports volleyball for Memorial University in Newfoundland.