Olivia Howe becomes first woman on WHL coaching staff

Olivia Howe is making WHL history in the city she grew up in.

Howe was named a coaching assistant with the Moose Jaw Warriors on Oct. 11. According to the WHL, Howe becomes the first woman to join a coaching staff in the league.

“It’s been really crazy,” Howe told Darrell Davis on Between the Lines on Sunday. “I think it’s a lot of media attention that I’m not really used to, so it’s been pretty wild.”

She admitted that a career in coaching wasn’t something she had considered before.

“I never really saw many women getting those kind of opportunities, so to see that it’s possible, I think that makes me more determined to learn more and build up my resume here and see where it can take me.”

The 25-year-old’s role with the team is being the “eye in the sky,” where she sits up in the box above the ice during games and tries to find weaknesses in the opponent’s game, while also determining what the Warriors can do better.

Howe, who is originally from Moose Jaw, played forward for the Notre Dame AAA Hounds from 2008 to 2012. There she accumulated 207 points (107 goals, 100 assists) in 106 games and was a part of the 2011 Esso Cup Championship team. She was also named the captain of the team for the 2011-12 season.

“Back in those days, (Notre Dame) was the place to be for a female hockey player and the development was really great out there,” Howe said.

She went on to play in the NCAA with Clarkson University from 2012-16. In 152 games there, she recorded 42 goals and 100 points.

While Howe wanted to continue playing hockey, she admitted her body had different plans for her.

“I thought the next best thing was to get involved in the coaching side of (hockey) and try to use my experience and the lessons that I’ve learned to teach to the younger children,” Howe said.

Warriors general manager Alan Millar invited her to the team’s 2019 training camp.

“(Howe) made a strong impression on our staff at our recent training camp as a guest coach,” Millar said in a news release. “She will be a strong addition to our team.”

Howe said the experience was a good one.

“They didn’t treat me like I was any different from any of the other coaches,” she said. “It was great.”

She noted she has to adapt to some of the differences between the men’s and women’s games, with the contact in the men’s game being most noticeable.

“Even after paying such close attention over these past couple games, you notice a couple different things in the way the boys react to players coming at them or dumping the puck different directions,” Howe said. “You can hold onto the puck a lot longer in those (women’s) games. It’s been fun but I think I still have a lot to learn.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Darrell Davis.