Howie Draper (born April 3, 1967) is a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach for the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. He has the most wins of any head coach in

U Sports women's ice hockey U Sports women's ice hockey is the highest level of play of women's ice hockey at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Women's ice hockey has been played in U Sports since the 1997-98 ...

history and was the inaugural head coach of

PWHL New York The New York Sirens are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They are one of the six charter franchises of the league. The team plays its home gam ...

Career

Prior to his coaching career, Draper played five years of

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

at the

, totalling nine goals and 48 points in 115 games. Draper coached the University of Alberta women's ice hockey team from 1997 to 2023, winning 14 Canada West titles and eight national championships, more than any other coach in

history. On January 10, 2020, Draper became the first coach to surpass 600 wins since the addition of women's hockey to U Sports with a 3–0 victory over

Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally “Mount Royal College,” Mount Royal University was granted university status in 2009 by the provincial government. The university has an average class s ...

. He was named coach of the year in 2002, 2004, 2009, and 2019. On September 15, 2023, the newly established

Professional Women's Hockey League The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL; , LPHF) is a women's professional ice hockey league in North America. The league comprises eight teams, four each from the United States and Canada. The teams play a Season (sports), regular season ...

(PWHL) announced the coaches for its inaugural six franchises, including Draper as head coach of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. New York struggled immensely under Draper, finishing in last place with a 5-4-3-12 record and at one point going over two months without a regulation win. Players on the team had reportedly asked for a change in coaching staff, with some describing the culture of the team as "toxic". On May 11, 2024, Draper and New York mutually agreed that he would not return as head coach in the fall. He remained on the team's staff as a special advisor within the scouting department. Draper returned as head coach for the University of Alberta in the 2024–25 season.

Career statistics

Head coaching record

U Sports

PWHL

References

External links

*
U Sports player stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Howie 1967 births Living people Canadian ice hockey coaches Alberta Golden Bears ice hockey players New York Sirens coaches