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The Wilfrid Laurier University women’s hockey team has a new head coach. On May 11, 2018, the Laurier Department of Athletics announced the hiring of Kelly Paton as the new head coach and manager of women’s hockey operations.
Paton coached the Western Mustangs for the past two seasons and led the Hawks’ rivals to a U-Sports silver medal in 2017.
It’s going to be an interesting transition for the Hawks as Rick Osborne had been behind the Hawks’ bench for 15 seasons.
Paton has had a very successful coaching career at the university level so far. In her two seasons with Western, she coached the Mustangs to an overall record of 39-19 along with an OUA championship this past winter.
Her short, but admirable stint with the Mustangs shows why she was selected as the new Hawks’ head coach among 90 applicants.
Although Paton will have a tall order to follow Rick Osborne’s illustrious career, she envisions a fitting candidate to take the Hawks in the right direction.
The Hawks had a rough 2017-18 season and with such a young roster, expectations will have to be tempered in the short run.
However, with a new head coach and a young team full of potential, the sky is the limit going forward for the Golden Hawks.
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