“There’s a real hunger for growth”: PWHL New York coach Greg Fargo ready for new challenge

The new bench boss in the Empire State has his work cut out for him, but he looks poised and ready for the challenge.

In his first official media availability as head coach of PWHL New York, Greg Fargo admitted he is gracious for the opportunity to coach in the hottest new professional league.

This is a great opportunity to continue to develop as a coach and pursue championships in the premier league of women’s hockey,” Fargo said in a statement earlier this month. “The upcoming off-season is full of potential, and I can’t wait to get started.” 

Fargo was hired by New York on June 7, less than a month after the team and former head coach Howie Draper mutually parted ways. The Kingston, Ontario native comes to the professional ranks after spending the last dozen years leading the women’s hockey program at Colgate University, guiding the Raiders to five ECAC championships and five NCAA National Tournament berths.

General manager Pascal Daoust admitted that was just the tip of the iceberg on why he hired Fargo.

“Experience is there,” Daoust said. “Knowledge is there, the personality is there. The capacity to connect with players on a daily basis…having them perform at their best, getting some championships on top of that. Building a program, which is something that we’re doing at the moment. There’s tons of good reasons.”

During his time in upstate New York, Fargo had the opportunity to coach New York players Jesse Eldridge and Olivia Zafuto, as well as Danielle Serdachny, who was taken second overall by Ottawa in this year’s PWHL Draft.

New York finished the inaugural season as the worst team in the PWHL, with a 5-4-3-12 record, nine points back of Minnesota for the last postseason spot. Despite the poor performance in year one, Fargo says there is a lot to be excited about with the talent on the roster.

“Frankly, the depth at every position on this roster,” Fargo told the media “I think through the draft we’ve been able to add some key components to our team. I see this team being one that, both from a style of play standpoint and value standpoint, just really be aligned. I can already sense that, in talking with the players that I’ve had a chance to talk with.”

He will have some extra firepower in his first season as the head coach, as the team picked Princeton star Sarah Fillier first overall. Fargo admits it will be nice to have the Canadian National Team star on his lineup sheet.

“I’ve had the opportunity to watch Sarah play from a different bench. She is such a dynamic player. When she’s on the ice and around the puck, she can change the game at any given moment. She has that special ability like so many.”

Fargo knows the organization has expectations to improve upon their first season.

“There’s a real hunger for growth. Both from an individual standpoint…but also from a team standpoint. Obviously, everybody’s really energized and inspired to come back and have a great season.”

One of the biggest aspects that ailed New York in its first season was inconsistency, something Fargo has a unique perspective on through his many years of coaching.

“I look at consistency as sort of an end result type of thing. How you perform on a daily basis is an outcome. As a coach, I try to look at performance as trying to be the best version of yourself every day. What I’m going to focus on is to help bring out the best in each and every player…and making sure that coaches and players have an alignment on what their role is.

When you have that kind of alignment, and everybody understands their own individual assignment, it creates a lot of clarity to go out and perform. If we’re able to do that up and down our lineup that we’re going to see a lot of consistency.”

Fargo knows that when one transitions from the collegiate ranks to the professional level, results are as important as individual advancement.

“The way I’ve always looked at winning, regardless of the seat I’m in, it’s an end result type of thing. As a coach, you really want to stay process-oriented and in control of things that are in your control. I imagine this offseason, myself, along with the rest of our staff, will take a deep dive into things that were working, but also take an opportunity to look deeper into areas where we can grow as an organization…and use that to help propel our team.”

Fargo also admitted that if the team does everything the right way, the wins will follow suit. The building blocks for a playoff team are there, including Player of the Year finalist Alex Carpenter and Defender of the Year finalist Ella Shelton. Especially with just six teams in the league, the slightest improvements could have New York inching up the PWHL standigns.

Free agency opens on Friday, January 21. New York currently has 12 players signed to next season, with 11 available spots on the roster.