New Boston Fleet head coach Francois Methot has a long standing connection to Boston defender Haley Winn, and it helped pave his path to the PWHL.
When you look at François Méthot's coaching resume, there isn't a plethora of women's hockey experience that sits on the surface. But just below the surface, or perhaps more accurately, just behind the scenes, Méthot, who was announced as the new head coach of the PWHL's Boston Fleet this week, has been guiding and coaching women's hockey players for years.
"My connection to the women's game goes way beyond way before the PWHL came into existence, to be honest with you," said Méthot.
Following his playing career, which took him from the AHL to Europe, Méthot began coaching. And one of the first players that stuck with him was a 13-year-old Haley Winn. Flash forward a decade, and the duo are set to be reunited at the pro levels.
"I realized that she was an elite athlete, just through her commitment and passion for the game," said Méthot of Winn. "So my philosophy came real quick to this, I thought, 'all right, if someone is as committed as they are to their game I'm willing to be committed to them the same way.'"
At Bishop Kearney, Méthot joined Winn for 6 am skates twice a week, and he's continued working with some of the top women's players each summer for the last 10 years.
Méthot worked with the Bishop Kearney program, including other PWHL players like Kiara Zanon, and incoming top prospect Kirsten Simms.
"If you push this forward, a lot of these women are in the league now, and I've been helping them individually through the last few years, navigating through their own career development," said Méthot.
Méthot joins the PWHL from the Rochester Jr. Americans, where last season the coach and general manager of the NAHL's team was named NAHL GM of the Year.
His conversation with his new general manager, Boston's Danielle Marmer, sold the step to the PWHL to Méthot as Rochester planned to leave the NAHL, and Méthot began looking at new opportunities.
"Danielle (Marmer) contacted me and I ended up blown away by our conversation and the way she looks at the game, and to me, it made me… it ended up being a no-brainer to join the league and join the...Fleet," Méthot.
Méthot and Boston will now be able to move forward in their roster building process. Luckily, Marmer and Méthot were aligned in the protection phase, particularly when it came to locking in PWHL Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year finalist, and Olympic gold medalist Haley Winn.
"The plan to protect Haley (Winn), you know, we had come to that conclusion as a staff prior to hiring Francois," said Marmer. "But it was a question I asked him in his interview. What how you would handle this protection process and what players you would protect. He was very much aligned with the decision that we made."