Boston Fleet sign Toronto-area native Kris Sparre to coach PWHL club

The Boston Fleet have hired Kris Sparre as the second head coach in the Professional Women's Hockey League franchise's history.

Sparre, a 38-year-old veteran assistant with no experience in the women's game, replaces Courtney Kessel, who had a 27-19-8 record and a Walter Cup Finals appearance before leaving to take over at Princeton. Her departure leaves only two female head coaches among the PWHL's eight teams.

"This is a league that has tremendous momentum right now. And to be able to work in a city like Boston, that has such a rich tradition in winning, and building successful teams, is something I don't take lightly and am tremendously excited about," Sparre said Wednesday at his introductory news conference in Wellesley, Mass. "I want to carry on that tradition. I want to make the Boston Fleet a championship-level program that we can all be proud of."

A Toronto-area native, Sparre played nine seasons as a forward in the minor leagues and in Germany and coached in the Ontario Hockey League, American Hockey League and Austria's top league. He was an assistant coach for Red Bull Salzburg from 2019-21 before spending three seasons with the San Diego Gulls, the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.

Making the move to women's hockey gave him the chance to deal with the sport's elite.

"It was important for me that I wanted to work with the highest level of athletes possible," he said. "They're motivated people. They want to get better. That's my skillset; that's my wheelhouse. That's where I want to live. And so, when this opportunity came up, I didn't look at it as 'men's [vs.] women's.' I looked at as the best option to work with the best in the world."

Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer said Sparre's experience in the AHL, where coaches need to balance winning with player development, will make him a good fit. Marmer, who spent time in the Boston Bruins player development department, said Sparre's lack of experience coaching women did not scare her off.

"I don't have a concern about the fact that he hasn't coached women's hockey," she said. "These are professional athletes. He's coached professional athletes. He's coached the best players in the game. Our players want to be treated like pros, and they want to learn from the best. And I think that's what we're doing here with bringing Kris in."

The Fleet have eight players remaining from the roster that reached finals in the PWHL's inaugural season. But they are looking to replace 36-year-old captain and league MVP finalist Hilary Knight, who was left unprotected in the expansion draft and is moving to Seattle after a season in which she tied for the league lead with 29 points.

"These are the best players in the world, the best women's hockey players in the world," said Sparre, who was headed out for lobster rolls after the media session. "We've got to be humble. … We can learn a lot from them, too."