“While we had hoped to continue building with Kris in Boston, we respect and support his decision to be closer to his young family,” Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer said in a statement. “Opportunities to lead a team in your hometown are rare, and we wish Kris and his family all the best as they begin this new chapter in Hamilton.”
Sparre will coach under recently appointed Hamilton GM Meghan Duggan, a three-time US Olympian and Danvers native.
The Fleet will now face a coaching search for the second consecutive year, following Courtney Kessel’s departure last June to take the helm at Princeton. Marmer said in the statement that the Fleet are “committed to hiring a head coach who not only shares our values but will continue to elevate our team on and off the ice.”
“While transitions are never easy, they also create an opportunity to grow and expand on what’s been built over the past three seasons. As the Fleet, we have always championed a team-first culture and remain dedicated to building a team this city can be proud of.”
The Fleet took a step forward under Sparre, earning 18 more points than they did in 2024-25. They allowed 45 goals, which is the second fewest in the league, and became the first team this season to clinch a playoff spot.
Players spoke highly of their first-year coach, crediting their success this season to the culture Sparre fostered and his belief that everyone – from top-line forwards to third-string goaltenders – played an equal role in the team’s achievements.
“It was a very special group where everybody had a really important puzzle piece,” said veteran forward Jill Saulnier. “That’s rare in sports… It’s hard to get yourself in a place where everybody feels valued.”
Before joining the Fleet last summer, Sparre had never been a head coach or coached women before. He came aboard after spending three years as an assistant coach with the San Diego Gulls, which is affiliated with Anaheim Ducks’ AHL.
With another roster shakeup expected due to upcoming expansion, Marmer mentioned earlier this month that she looked forward to relying on her relationship with Sparre during that process.
“The more time you have with somebody… I know what he’s looking for and what he needs,” Marmer said during the team’s breakup day. “He knows what my expectations are, and I think that it’s going to be a seamless transition… It gives me a lot of hope in this expansion process.”
Fleet captain Megan Keller agreed, saying earlier this month that having consistent leadership would be “huge” for the team entering another round of expansion.
“The culture and structure that we’ve been able to build as a group – knowing now who we want to bring in so they fit into our style of play while being part of this culture – is huge,” Keller stated. “That standard is set.”
Instead, the Fleet now face similar uncertainty as last offseason when two new teams joined the league.
Hamilton is one of four new teams entering next season along with Las Vegas, San Jose, and Detroit. Of those teams, only San Jose has announced its coach: former Toronto Sceptres coach Troy Ryan will take on both coaching and general managing duties.
This year’s roster-building process for expansion – which won’t include traditional drafts but rather multiple signing windows – will start on June 2 and end on June 18. The PWHL entry draft is set for June 17 in Detroit while free agency opens on June 19.
Emma Healy can be reached at emma. healy@globe. com or on X @By Emma Healy.var one Trust Active = true; var one Trust Consent Obj; try { one Trust Consent Obj = JSON. parse(window. local Storage. get Item(‘consent_one_trust_bgmp’) || ‘{}’); } catch (err) { one Trust Consent Obj = {}; } // Default to granted consent var consent=”grant” // FB script decleration ! function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { if(f. fbq)return; n=f. fbq=function(){n. call Method? n. call Method. apply(n, arguments): n. queue. push(arguments)}; if(! f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n. push=n; n. loaded=!0; n. version=’2.0′; n. queue=[]; t=b. create Element(e); t. async=!0; t. src=v; s=b. get Elements By Tag Name(e)[0]; s. parent Node. insert Before(t, s); } (window. document,’script’, ‘%%URL_O%%’); if (one Trust Active && one Trust Consent Obj && one Trust Consent Obj. C0004 === false) { consent=”revoke”; } // We need call consent before run init track fbq(‘consent’, consent); fbq(‘set’, ‘auto Config’, ‘false’, ‘884869448226452’); fbq(‘set’, ‘auto Config’, ‘false’, ‘493062270895851’); fbq(‘init’, ‘884869448226452’); fbq(‘track’, ‘Page View’);
[ad__2]
Source link
[ad__2]
Source link
