Kelsey Koelzer

Last updated

Kelsey Koelzer
Metropolitan Riveters - Kelsey Koelzer (cropped).jpg
Koelzer with the Metropolitan Riveters in 2018
Born (1995-06-16) June 16, 1995 (age 27)
Horsham, Pennsylvania, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
Played for PWHPA
Metropolitan Riveters
Princeton Tigers
Playing career 2013–present

Kelsey Koelzer (born June 16, 1995) is an American ice hockey defender, currently serving as head coach of the Arcadia University women's ice hockey program, the first black female head coach in NCAA ice hockey history, as well as the Advisor to the Commissioner on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the NWHL. [1] [2] [3] She was drafted 1st overall by the Metropolitan Riveters in the 2016 NWHL Draft, the first black player to be the first overall pick in a professional North American hockey league draft. She played two seasons in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) with the Riveters before joining the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) in 2019.

Contents

Playing career

Across 128 NCAA Division I games with the Princeton Tigers, Koelzer scored 100 points and was a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist in 2016 and 2017. [4] She was named ECAC Hockey Best Defender of the Year in 2016. [5] She was the first-ever Princeton's women's hockey first team All-American. [6] [7]

The New York Riveters selected her 1st overall in the 2016 NWHL Draft, the first black player to be the first overall pick in a professional North American hockey league draft. [8] [9]

She signed her first professional contract at the end of the 2016-17 NWHL regular season, and would make her first NWHL appearance in the Riveters' loss to the Buffalo Beauts in the semi-finals. She would go on to play two full seasons with the club, winning the Isobel Cup in 2018. She was named to Team Leveille for the 2018 NWHL All-Star Game, where she would be awarded All-Star Game MVP.

In May 2019, she joined the PWHPA. [10] [11] She would appear for Team Decker in the Dream Gap Tour exhibition in Philadelphia during the 2019–20 PWHPA season. [12]

Executive career

In September 2019, she was hired by Arcadia University as head coach for the new women's hockey programme. [13] She is the first black female head coach in the history of NCAA ice hockey.

She is also a member of the NHL and NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee. [14] Along with Melissa Parnagian, she campaigned for the introduction of the Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act. [15]

On March 25, 2021, she was appointed to the role of Advisor to the Commissioner on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the NWHL. [16]

Personal life

Koelzer has a degree in psychology from Princeton University. [17]

Career Statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2016–17 Metropolitan Riveters NWHL –––––10000
2017–18 Metropolitan RivetersNWHL1559141020112
2018–19 Metropolitan RivetersNWHL140001210000
2019–20 Tri-State PWHPA ––––––––––
NWHL totals2959142240112

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Kessel</span> American professional ice hockey player (born 1991)

Amanda Kessel is an American professional ice hockey player. She has been a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team and played four seasons for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey program. She has played professionally in the National Women's Hockey League and Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. Amanda Kessel was also the Captain of the Championship Team at the Pink Whitney Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brianna Decker</span> American womens ice hockey player

Brianna Decker is an American women's ice hockey player who plays for the Calgary section of the PWHPA and the United States women's national ice hockey team. She won the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Award while playing for the University of Wisconsin, recognizing the best female ice hockey player in NCAA Division I play. With the Boston Pride, Decker would score the first hat trick in NWHL history on October 25, 2015.

Annie Pankowski is an American women's ice hockey player with the PWHPA and the United States women's national ice hockey team. She was the first California born and trained player to make the United States women's national under-18 ice hockey team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premier Hockey Federation</span> Professional womens ice hockey league

The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and has since grown to a mixture of seven independently owned teams: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force and Toronto Six.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haley Skarupa</span> American ice hockey player

Haley Rae Skarupa is an American ice hockey player with the PWHPA and the American national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Riveters</span> PHF team in East Rutherford, New Jersey

The Metropolitan Riveters are a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Whale (PHF)</span> Professional ice hockey team in Simsbury, Connecticut

The Connecticut Whale are a professional ice hockey team based in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They play in Simsbury, Connecticut at the International Skating Center of Connecticut. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League. Their name and colors pay homage to the Hartford Whalers, a former NHL and WHA franchise based in Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Babstock</span> Canadian-American ice hockey player

Kelly Babstock is a Canadian-American ice hockey player who currently plays with the Metropolitan Riveters of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She has Ojibwe roots and is originally from Little Current on Manitoulin Island, part of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. Babstock played collegiate ice hockey with the Quinnipiac Bobcats and, as of September 2021, remains the top point scorer in the program’s history. In the National Women's Hockey League, she played with the Connecticut Whale from 2015–2018 and with the Buffalo Beauts during the 2018–19 season. In the Whale's inaugural game on October 15, 2015, she became the first Canadian-born player to score a goal in a NWHL regular season game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Bolden</span> American ice hockey player and scout

Blake Alexis Bolden is an American ice hockey player and scout for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). On October 11, 2015, she became the first African-American player to compete in the National Women's Hockey League. She won the 2015 Clarkson Cup with the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). In 2016, she won the Isobel Cup with the Boston Pride of the NWHL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyssa Gagliardi</span> American ice hockey player

Alyssa Marie Gagliardi is an American ice hockey defender currently with the PWHPA. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Gagliardi is one of the first women from Raleigh to become a professional ice hockey player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Johnston</span> Canadian ice hockey defender (born 1992)

Ashley Johnston is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defender and current assistant coach of the Premier Hockey Federation's Metropolitan Riveters. Known for her gritty, stay-at-home style of play as a shutdown defender, she was the first player to serve as team captain in Riveters history, a role she would hold for three years until her initial retirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Fitzgerald</span> American ice hockey goaltender

Kathleen "Katie" Fitzgerald is an American ice hockey player who currently plays for the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). She previously played for the Metropolitan Riveters in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Having played NCAA hockey with the St. Cloud State Huskies, she was the first Husky to sign a contract in the PHF.

The Princeton Tigers represent Princeton University in ECAC women's ice hockey during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019–20 NWHL season</span> Sports season

The 2019–20 NWHL season was the fifth season of the National Women's Hockey League. All five teams from the previous season returned: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, and the Minnesota Whitecaps.

The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, which only paid stipends, and player's dissatisfaction in the operations of the National Women's Hockey League. Their goal is to create a sustainable professional league for women's ice hockey in North America.

Bulbul Kartanbay or Bulbul Kartanbayeva is a Kazakh ice hockey forward and a member of the Kazakh national team, currently playing in the Swiss Women's League with Neuchâtel Hockey Academy. Kartanbay is founder and owner of the first women’s ice hockey academy in Kazakhstan. She was the first player from Kazakhstan to play in the National Women's Hockey League and to be affiliated with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).

Elaine Monica Chuli is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender, currently playing with the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). She played college ice hockey with the UConn Huskies and is the all-time saves leader for both the Hockey East (WHEA) conference and the Huskies program.

Kimberly Allison Sass is an American architect and professional ice hockey goaltender, currently playing with the New Hampshire section of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and serving on the PWHPA board of directors.

Paige Voight is an American ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).

Kristin Lewicki is an American ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).

References

  1. ↑ Douglas, William (February 9, 2020). "Color of Hockey: Koelzer set to be first black coach in NCAA". NHL . Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  2. ↑ NWHL Media (March 25, 2021). "KELSEY KOELZER APPOINTED ADVISOR TO THE COMMISSIONER ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION". National Women's Hockey League . Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  3. ↑ Douglas, William (July 27, 2020). "Color of Hockey: Wright was NCAA pioneer at Buffalo". NHL. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021. Wright, a former Boston University player, became the first Black coach of an NCAA hockey team. He guided Buffalo for 12 seasons in two stints from 1970-81 and 1986-87... But Wright is largely unsung in the greater hockey world today. Several college hockey officials and experts cited Kelsey Koelzer as the NCAA's first Black hockey coach
  4. ↑ Ayala, Erica (September 14, 2017). "Women's Hockey Top 25 Under 25 | Number 16 - Kelsey Koelzer". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Kelsey Koelzer". USA Hockey . Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  6. ↑ "2016-17 Women's Hockey Roster: #11 Kelsey Koelzer". Princeton University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. ↑ https://www.theintell.com/6b1577c4-e061-11e6-8725-777800294a53.html [ dead link ]
  8. ↑ Berkman, Seth (November 25, 2016). "Two Black Women Embrace Their Chance to Be Hockey Role Models". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  9. ↑ Ayala, Erica (May 22, 2017). "Four American Women of Color Navigating Hockey's Whiteness". The Victory Press. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  10. ↑ Mouzzon, Ashley (February 4, 2020). "PWHPA Spotlight: Kelsey Koelzer set to make NCAA coaching debut". Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  11. ↑ Berkman, Seth (March 14, 2019). "One Canceled Flight Upends the N.W.H.L. Playoffs". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  12. ↑ Jay, Michelle (December 18, 2019). "PWHPA announces Philadelphia Dream Gap Tour stop". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Frank (September 21, 2019). "Arcadia University introduces men's and women's hockey -- and a female African-American coach". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  14. ↑ Kaplan, Emily (March 8, 2019). "NHL, NHLPA establish Female Hockey Advisory Committee". ESPN . Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  15. ↑ Page, Martin (February 5, 2020). "Melissa Parnagian '17 and Kelsey Koelzer '17 Work to Honor Hockey Trailblazer Willie O'Ree". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  16. ↑ NWHL Media (March 25, 2021). "KELSEY KOELZER APPOINTED ADVISOR TO THE COMMISSIONER ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION". National Women's Hockey League . Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  17. ↑ Rice, Dan (December 24, 2017). "Metropolitan Riveters: Q & A with Defender Kelsey Koelzer". The Hockey Writers. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.