When the birth of a new professional women’s hockey league, including a franchise in Montreal, was announced, local fans hoped that Carolina Stinger associate head coach Caroline Ouellette would make the jump to the PWHL, but it didn’t happen. Until now…
The Victoire announced that Ouellette, who had been a part-time assistant coach with Daniele Sauvageau’s team for the last two seasons, will now be occupying the role full-time. A few weeks ago, Ouellette announced that she was leaving the Concordia Stingers on a leave of absence to focus on her work with Victoire and Team Canada in preparation for the Milano Cortina Olympics. While the PWHL schedule will be constructed around the Olympics, it won’t be the case for Concordia.
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The Victoire is delighted to be adding Ouellette to its full-time staff for the 2025-26 season. “Caroline has been offering us valuable guidance since the beginning, and we’re thrilled to have her on board full-time. Her experience, both on the ice and behind the bench, is a tremendous asset to our organization and our coaching staff,” said Victoire General Manager, Sauvageau.
Ouellette, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023 after retiring from hockey, has a winning record both on the ice and behind the bench. A four-time gold medalist at the Olympics, who has also won six gold medals and six silver medals at the World Championships, the former forward certainly knows how to win on the ice.
Before she even hung up her skates, she began coaching at various levels, first with her alma mater, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, in the NCAA, where she won the national championship as an assistant coach. More recently, she helped lead the Concordia Stingers to two national championships as an associate head coach and she's also an assistant coach with Team Canada alongside Kori Cheverie.
When Ouellette became more visible around the Victoire last season, captain Marie-Philip Poulin was asked about her and replied:
It’s wonderful to have staff like that, for her to take the time to come to us after her season finished (with the Stingers). For us, Caroline is an icon. She’s an idol for me. To have her on the ice and be able to listen to her…she knows how to coach. It’s wonderful. The girls who don’t know her as well will see how passionate and dedicated she is. We’re so happy to have her with us.
As for Stinger’s coach, Julie Chue, she was asked about losing her associate coach at Laura Stacey’s Sticks In For Charity event, and she said:
Change is always a constant, and she was a massive part of our team. However, I’m sure I’ll still draw on her for some ideas too. She’s been a great asset. For us, it’s an opportunity to hire another full-time assistant as she takes a leave for this year, and we get a chance to continue having good resources for our players, allowing us to remain competitive. She’ll be missed for sure; it’s hard not to miss her.-
The season is still quite a way away in the PWHL, but that kind of announcement is a sign that it’s slowly but surely coming. The Victoire will be an interesting team to keep an eye on this upcoming season with the changes brought about by the expansion and the arrival of Abby Roque.