Oilers hire NWHL founder Dani Rylan Kearney as regional scout

The Edmonton Oilers added Dani Rylan Kearney to the team’s hockey operations department as a regional scout.

Rylan Kearney, 36, is best known for being the founder and former commissioner of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL).

She created the league in 2015, then stepped down as commissioner in October 2020, continuing to oversee the operations of the Buffalo Beauts, the Connecticut Whale, the Metropolitan Riveters and the Minnesota Whitecaps.

Before creating the NWHL, Rylan Kearney attempted to bring a Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) team to New York City. When it fell through, she founded the NWHL.

Growing up in Florida, her father worked for the marketing department of the Tampa Bay Lightning, which encouraged her to start skating. With few women’s leagues in the area, she played with boys on the Tampa Bay Junior Lightning team. She went to boarding school and was the captain of the St. Mark’s women’s hockey team in New England.

Rylan Kearney played one season with the D-II Metropolitan State College of Denver men’s hockey team. She earned a degree in broadcasting journalism from the school in 2010.

She went on to play two years of women’s college hockey at Northeastern University, recording six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 70 career games. She graduated from Northeastern with a master’s degree.

While at Northeastern, she worked for NBC Boston-affiliate WHDH, covering the Boston Bruins.

After her playing career, she worked for the NHL Network on the production side, setting up guest segments and creating graphics.