FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2023
TORONTO — The Toronto Six are pleased to welcome back Geraldine Heaney as the team’s head coach through the 2023-24 Premier Hockey Federation season.
In addition to Heaney’s extension, the Six have also named both Jessica Turi and Mark Joslin as Associate Coaches for the upcoming season. Turi was a member of Heaney’s coaching staff as Toronto secured their first Isobel Cup championship in franchise history. Joslin returns to the organization after most recently leading the club as bench boss in 2021-22. The Toronto Six would like to thank Kevin Greco for his one season of service as the hockey club’s assistant coach.
“I’m happy to be back for another season,” said Geraldine Heaney, Head Coach of the Toronto Six. “It was a great group last year and we were very successful. It was my first year coaching professional women’s hockey in the PHF and I had a blast. It was a lot of fun. I learnt a lot and I just want to see what we can do again next year. Repeating is obviously one of the hardest things to ever do in sport, so that’s a challenge and I’m always up for a good challenge. I know we’re working hard putting this team together, and we’re going to be the best team we can be out there. Repeating as an Isobel Cup champion, it would be something that is a dream of mine and I know the returning players are going to want to defend their championship.”
Heaney was appointed head coach of the Six prior to the start of the 2022-23 season where she was entrusted by former teammate and General Manager Angela James to use her experience to help craft a winning roster. On the ice, she has accumulated a 17-5-2 regular season record and a 3-1-0 record in the postseason, making for a successful first season at the helm of the PHF’s first Canadian franchise.
Enjoying early success behind the bench in the PHF, Heaney was also named coach for the 2023 PHF All-Star Showcase alongside Kim St. Pierre, leading Team PHF Canada to a 3-2 victory over Team World in the championship final on home ice at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.
“In my opinion, we have the best coaching staff in the league, and the best support coaching staff in the league. It is important to have the experience, expertise and great leadership to inspire the top female hockey players in the world,” said Angela James, General Manager of the Toronto Six. “The players are lucky to have such hardworking coaches dedicated to making them better.”
Heaney has established herself as a prominent figure in women’s hockey for over three decades, starting with a storied playing career in the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA), where she skated in over 1,000 games with the Toronto Aeros over an 18-year period. Blazing a trail for the sport’s growth as she rose to stardom, the Northern Ireland native was named to Canada’s National Team for the first time in 1990, where she scored one of the most famous goals in women’s hockey history en route to clinching the first IIHF Women’s World Championship title for Canada. Marking the start of an outstanding nine-year run on the national stage, Heaney represented Canada in seven-straight World Championships and is the only player to have played in all seven of those gold medal wins. She competed alongside James during the first four wins in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1997 and was named the tournament’s Best Defenceman by the IIHF directorate in 1992 and 1994. Heaney would also win gold in the 1999, 2000, and 2001 events on a team with T6 President Sami-Jo Small. On top of a perfect World Championship record, Heaney is a two-time Olympian, earning silver in 1998 and winning gold in 2002 with Small as her teammate. She is the highest scoring defender in Canadian National Women’s Team history, recording 93 points, including 27 goals and 66 assists, in 125 games played between 1990-2002.
In recognition of her success and countless contributions to the game, Heaney became just the third woman to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame back in 2013, following the 2010 class that included James and U.S. Olympian Cammi Granato. The trio were the first women to be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2008. Heaney also became a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and received the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2016. Before she joined the T6, Heaney served as head coach for six seasons at the University of Waterloo and has most recently spent time coaching her kids, Shannon and Patrick, in minor hockey with the Ancaster Avalanche and Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs respectively.
“Geraldine knows how to win. Her intense passion and desire to come out on top are a major asset to our organization,” said T6 captain Shiann Darkangelo. “I look forward to what we will accomplish this coming season.”
As the Six look to defend their first ever PHF title, the team now has seven players under contract for the 2023-24 season with goaltender Carly Jackson joining defenders Saroya Tinker, Taylor Davison and forward Claire Dalton on one-year deals, with returning goaltender Elaine Chuli and captain Shiann Darkangelo both signing two-year deals. Returning forward Daryl Watts is entering the second year of a two-year agreement.
About the Toronto Six
The Toronto Six are a professional women’s ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario and competing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The Six are the league’s second expansion team that stepped on PHF ice in 2021, capturing a regular season championship. The team is owned and operated by Johanna Neilson-Boynton and BTM Partners. Visit toronto.premierhockeyfederation.com to learn more.
About Premier Hockey Federation (PHF):
The PHF is the leading source of professional women’s hockey in North America. Established in 2015 as the National Women’s Hockey League, the NWHL rebranded to become the PHF in 2021 and maintains the mission to provide strong role models and fuel the continued growth of the sport. The league is made up of the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, and the Toronto Six who all compete annually for the Isobel Cup.