Cheverie, MacLeod, Sparre named finalists for 2026 PWHL Coach of the Year award
A trio of leaders have been recognized for their incredible work behind the bench this season.
On Friday, the PWHL announced the Montreal Victoire’s Kori Cheverie, Ottawa Charge’s Carla MacLeod and Boston Fleet’s Kris Sparre have been named the finalists for the 2025-26 Coach of the Year award.
Cheverie is the defending “champion,” having been crowned the second-ever coach of the year after leading the Victoire to the best record in the PWHL during the 2024-25 season. The team replicated the feat, matching the fastest postseason berth in league history. With the Nova Scotian behind the bench, Montreal also set the record for longest point streak in PWHL history, as the Victoire posted points in 16 consecutive games. Most of that streak came without captain Marie-Philip Poulin. Cheverie capped off the incredible season by coaching Montreal to its first Walter Cup earlier this week.
Cheverie is the only coach to have been named a finalist for each of the league’s first three seasons.
You could write a book about MacLeod’s 2025-26 season. In coming off leading the Charge to the Walter Cup Final for the first time, she announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer just before the start of the campaign. Yet she persevered, and while she had to step away at times during the year to receive treatment, she remained a constant presence with the team. Ottawa snuck into the playoffs once again, finishing fourth in the league, and under MacLeod made it back to the championship series, ultimately losing to the Victoire in four games.
Sparre is considered by some to be the favorite, especially given how bad the Fleet was before his hiring. He came in and restored confidence in a fairly talented group, which led to Boston becoming one of the most stagnant defenses in the PWHL. The team would go on to secure a postseason berth for the second time in franchise history, doing so in a record 24 games. The team finished second in the league in goals against, only trailing the Victoire. However, Boston came short of reaching its ultimate goal, as the team was knocked out by MacLeod’s Charge in the semfinals.