Kelsey Koelzer

Kelsey Koelzer (born June 16, 1995) is an American ice hockey defender, currently serving as head coach of the Arcadia University women's ice hockey program, the first black female head coach in NCAA ice hockey history, as well as the Advisor to the Commissioner on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the NWHL.[1][2][3] She was drafted 1st overall by the Metropolitan Riveters in the 2016 NWHL Draft, the first black player to be the first overall pick in a professional North American hockey league draft. She played two seasons in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) with the Riveters before joining the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) in 2019.

Kelsey Koelzer
Koelzer with the Metropolitan Riveters in 2018
Born (1995-06-16) June 16, 1995
Horsham, Pennsylvania, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
Played for PWHPA
Metropolitan Riveters
Princeton Tigers
Playing career 2013–present

Playing career

Across 128 NCAA Division I games with the Princeton Tigers, Koelzer scored 100 points and was a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist in 2016 and 2017.[4] She was named ECAC Hockey Best Defender of the Year in 2016.[5] She was the first-ever Princeton's women's hockey first team All-American.[6][7]

The New York Riveters selected her 1st overall in the 2016 NWHL Draft, the first black player to be the first overall pick in a professional North American hockey league draft.[8][9]

She signed her first professional contract at the end of the 2016-17 NWHL regular season, and would make her first NWHL appearance in the Riveters' loss to the Buffalo Beauts in the semi-finals. She would go on to play two full seasons with the club, winning the Isobel Cup in 2018. She was named to Team Leveille for the 2018 NWHL All-Star Game, where she would be awarded All-Star Game MVP.

In May 2019, she joined the PWHPA.[10][11] She would appear for Team Decker in the Dream Gap Tour exhibition in Philadelphia during the 2019–20 PWHPA season.[12]

Executive career

In September 2019, she was hired by Arcadia University as head coach for the new women's hockey programme.[13] She is the first black female head coach in the history of NCAA ice hockey.

She is also a member of the NHL and NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee.[14] Along with Melissa Parnagian, she campaigned for the introduction of the Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act.[15]

On March 25, 2021, she was appointed to the role of Advisor to the Commissioner on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the NWHL.[16]

Personal life

Koelzer has a degree in psychology from Princeton University.[17]

Career Statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2016–17Metropolitan RivetersNWHL ––––– 10000
2017–18Metropolitan RivetersNWHL 15591410 20112
2018–19Metropolitan RivetersNWHL 1400012 10000
2019–20Tri-StatePWHPA ––––– –––––
NWHL totals 29591422 40112

References
  1. Douglas, William (February 9, 2020). "Color of Hockey: Koelzer set to be first black coach in NCAA". NHL. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  2. NWHL Media (March 25, 2021). "KELSEY KOELZER APPOINTED ADVISOR TO THE COMMISSIONER ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION". National Women's Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  3. Douglas, William (July 27, 2020). "Color of Hockey: Wright was NCAA pioneer at Buffalo". NHL. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021. Wright, a former Boston University player, became the first Black coach of an NCAA hockey team. He guided Buffalo for 12 seasons in two stints from 1970-81 and 1986-87... But Wright is largely unsung in the greater hockey world today. Several college hockey officials and experts cited Kelsey Koelzer as the NCAA's first Black hockey coach
  4. Ayala, Erica (September 14, 2017). "Women's Hockey Top 25 Under 25 | Number 16 - Kelsey Koelzer". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. "Kelsey Koelzer". USA Hockey. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  6. "2016-17 Women's Hockey Roster: #11 Kelsey Koelzer". Princeton University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. https://www.theintell.com/6b1577c4-e061-11e6-8725-777800294a53.html
  8. Berkman, Seth (November 25, 2016). "Two Black Women Embrace Their Chance to Be Hockey Role Models". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  9. Ayala, Erica (May 22, 2017). "Four American Women of Color Navigating Hockey's Whiteness". The Victory Press. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  10. Mouzzon, Ashley (February 4, 2020). "PWHPA Spotlight: Kelsey Koelzer set to make NCAA coaching debut". Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  11. Berkman, Seth (March 14, 2019). "One Canceled Flight Upends the N.W.H.L. Playoffs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  12. Jay, Michelle (December 18, 2019). "PWHPA announces Philadelphia Dream Gap Tour stop". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. Fitzpatrick, Frank (September 21, 2019). "Arcadia University introduces men's and women's hockey -- and a female African-American coach". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  14. Kaplan, Emily (March 8, 2019). "NHL, NHLPA establish Female Hockey Advisory Committee". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  15. Page, Martin (February 5, 2020). "Melissa Parnagian '17 and Kelsey Koelzer '17 Work to Honor Hockey Trailblazer Willie O'Ree". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  16. NWHL Media (March 25, 2021). "KELSEY KOELZER APPOINTED ADVISOR TO THE COMMISSIONER ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION". National Women's Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  17. Rice, Dan (December 24, 2017). "Metropolitan Riveters: Q & A with Defender Kelsey Koelzer". The Hockey Writers. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
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