A Deeper Look At PWHL Minnesota's New General Manager Melissa Caruso

Melissa Caruso is the new general manager of PWHL Minnesota. She comes with a wealth of business and logistical experience, but has not played hockey, nor been involved in scouting, drafting, signing, or assessing players, or roster building.

PWHL Minnesota made their decision of who would replace soon-to-be Hockey Hall of Famer Natalie Darwitz, hiring Melissa Caruso, a long time staff member of the American Hockey League. The move was precipitated by the dismissal of Darwitz only days after the Minnesota roster she'd assembled won the inaugural Walter Cup, amidst internal turmoil between the then general manager, head coach Ken Klee, and captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.

The hiring of Caruso, who has worked with the AHL for the last 15 seasons, marks the introduction of a manager with a vastly different skill set from the departed Darwitz. Caruso herself, has no playing experience at at any level of the game. Instead, she's been focused on the business side of the sport graduating from Springfield College in 2009 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. 

Following that moment, Caruso was hired by the AHL, working as a coordinator for team business services. Next up Caruso spent two years as the executive assistant to the AHL's president, before being hired as a director of hockey administration and the AHL's central registry. From there she was promoted to serve as the AHL's vice president of hockey administration, and finally vice president of hockey operations and governance.

The main departure from Darwitz, is that Caruso has no experience roster building including signing, scouting, drafting players, or assessing on-ice skill and performance. Those roles are likely to remain in the hands of head coach Ken Klee who overtook the draft and free agency following the removal of Natalie Darwitz.

Recently, Caruso has handled the AHL's off-ice operations tag teaming with Hayley Moore, who was offered a general manager's role in the PWHL last season, who handles the AHL's on-ice topics.

Caruso has been crucial in developing the AHL's vast schedule, one of her key duties in recent seasons, while she's also dealt with player eligibility, league by-laws and regulations. While she doesn't have team building experience from an on-ice perspective, Caruso stated in 2023 that she knows how general managers and coaches think.

"I know how GM’s think,” she said in an interview with TheAHL.com. “I know how coaches feel."

Caruso worked closely with those GMs and the league Board of Governors saying she wanted "to provide the best service I can to them," which was something she drew personal pride from. 

"Certain times of the year can be pretty hectic and stressful and contentious. But my approach is just to treat everyone equally and try to find the best solution.”

Caruso's management experience will come in handy entering an environment described as "toxic" and "unprofessional" by former staff, and players. That also included the departure of a head coach, assistant coach, athletic trainer, goalie coach, and skills coach before, during, and after the season, as well as former general manager Natalie Darwitz. 

Caruso was named the AHL's 2020-2021 Outstanding Executive winning the James C. Hendy Memorial Award.

Caruso joins the PWHL with a wealth of off-ice logistical and business experience that will certainly benefit the league and Minnesota. She also joins without the experience of roster building. It's a trade off that will be interesting to follow this season as it all plays out with PWHL Minnesota.