PWHL Vancouver name Cara Gardner Morey first GM in franchise history

PWHL Vancouver announced Friday announced that Cara Gardner Morey has been named the first general manager in franchise history.

“Cara brings exceptional experience at all levels of the game, a deep understanding of player development, and an unwavering passion for advancing women’s sports,” said PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford. “Her track record at Princeton speaks for itself – instilling a strong culture, recruiting top talent, developing elite athletes, and winning championships.

“Cara becoming General Manager of PWHL Vancouver is a powerful addition to our league,” Hefford added.

Daily Faceoff host Jeff Marek was the first to report the news.

The news comes exactly one month after the PWHL announced that Vancouver will receive a team, expanding the league to seven teams for its third year of operation.

Gardner Morey served as the head coach of the Princeton Tigers’ women’s team, a role she’s held since 2017-18 after serving as an assistant coach since 2011-12.

The team won the ECAC tournament in 2019-20, defeating No. 1 ranked Cornell in the championship. During her time with Princeton, they earned two births to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to joining Princeton, she was the head coach of the Arizona Kachinas U16 AAA team for two years, as well as an assistant coach for the Robert Morris women’s team.

As a player, she excelled with the Brown Bears in both ice hockey and field hockey. In the former, spent four seasons playing for Brown, scoring five goals and five assists for 10 points and 44 penalty minutes in 28 games in 2000-01.

She spent parts of three seasons in the NWHL, playing for the Montreal Windstar and Brampton Thunder.

Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice president of business operations, says Vancouver is the right place to add a team.

“Obviously coming here to the third largest market in Canada (is) really important,” Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice president of business operations, said at a press conference last month. “(They’ve) shown a remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey. (Their) fan base is engaged. It’s vibrant, it’s fun.”

The team will play at the historic Pacific Coliseum, with the team practicing at the PNE Agrodome. Both facilities will undergo substantial upgrades before the start of the 2025-26 season. Vancouver will be the primary tenant of the Coliseum, an arena that has a listed capacity of 16,281 for hockey.