A new head coach. Fourteen new players on a roster of seventeen. New uniforms.

Okay – that last one might involve just a move to two-tone numbers and some tinkering to the look of the shoulders for the Sudbury U18 AA Lady Wolves, but you get the picture.

With a healthy exodus of local female hockey talent making their way south this year, the 2024-2025 version of the highest level team iced within the Sudbury District Girls Hockey Association will be far younger than pretty much every one that has been seen in these parts for pretty much the past two decades or so.

All of which is not necessarily a bad thing in the mind of the young lady who transitions to a head coaching role after spending the past three coaching alongside André Brunette (who remains aboard as an assistant coach).

“I like that we are getting to do a total reset of everything with the team: culture, habits in practice, habits in games, all of the little things that tie in with how they execute on the ice,” suggested Stephanie Pascal, the first female head coach that this program (U18 AA team) has known.

At just 28 years of age, she is also easily among the youngest of coaches, male or female, to tackle the role. “I’m excited to see how the girls take to this – and I think they are excited, which is awesome. We have players who are eager to work hard and prove themselves.”

Second year defenseman Payton Cyr can absolutely relate, surprising some by cracking the roster as a first year U18 talent in the spring of 2023. “My tryouts were super good, but then as soon as I went in the dressing room, I was worried that all of the girls were better than me, bigger and faster, and my confidence just went down.”

Ah yes – that bugaboo that comes with so many female athletes.

And, as is so often the case, the 16 year old resident of Sturgeon Falls who attends St Joseph Scollard Hall Secondary School in North Bay soon realized that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Once I got to know the girls and figured things out, my confidence got so much better and I was playing better,” said Cyr. “My shot got better, my speed got better, my passing – everything.”

It’s a concept not lost in the least on the former OUA Goalie of the Year turned coach who led her team to a pair of appearances at national championships while playing at Queen’s University in Kingston.

“I think you really need to be positive,” said Pascal, an engineer by trade. “They have to know, coming in, that I trust them, I believe in them and I want them to succeed. Getting them to understand that they are learning if they are making mistakes is going to be huge – especially for teenage girls, who can struggle with confidence.”

Kynlee Cresswell knows her new head coach better than almost anyone on the ice. The 17 year-old multi-sport talent (she is also a competitive soccer player) joins fellow Bishop Carter senior Jillian Landry as the only two players who will age out of U18 hockey next April. Both are also in their third year with the team, meaning that all-important relationship with returning staff is clearly well established.

“I love Steph’s positive energy – and I love having a female (head) coach,” said Cresswell. “I feel you can connect on a different level, a female coach with female players. It’s nice to be able to talk about our day and not always talk about hockey with her.”

That comfort is going to be critical as there is little doubt that Cresswell and Landry start the season as two of the go-to options offensively, with so many others adjusting to a new and higher level of play.

“At the beginning of last season, I think I struggled with the puck and stuff – but it gained throughout the season,” said Cresswell. “This year, I want to come out with confidence.”

And much like her coach, the well-spoken forward who will almost certainly assume a leadership role with this crew also finds a silver lining that accompanies the influx of new talent.

“I think a lot of the girls coming in want to prove themselves, they want to prove that we are a AA team, that we can go to Toronto and compete,” said Cresswell. “It might be a rough start – but I look at this as the underdog story.”

Pascal is not oblivious to the need to show potential and progress right out of the gate, even if wins may be hard to come by as the Lady Wolves face a relatively challenging draw in both the upcoming Etobicoke Dolphins Exhibition Series (August 30th to September 2nd) and the Stoney Creek U18 Showcase (September 6th to the 8th).

“We’re trying to find a balance on wanting to work on systems,” she said. “I know it’s a big part of starting out the season – but you need the skills to actually be able to execute the systems. It’s trying to find that balance early.”

“We’re working a lot on breakouts and zone entries, introducing the basics without introducing the whole system,” Pascal added. “But we’ll go into more detail in the d-zone – that’s where we need more structure.”

“Offensively, they can be creative and do fine but defensively, they need that structure to be able to execute it and do well in games.”

And for as much as two practice sessions is hardly enough time to put her stamp on a style of play that the favours, the Esso Cup bronze medal winner starts the season with some visions in mind.

“I like to have a team that pressures hard in all areas of the ice,” said Pascal, who cut her teeth in a head coaching role at the recent Ontario Summer Games in London. “When we lose the puck, making sure that we’re always attacking, not giving the other team time and space.”

“I think that’s something this team will do really well.”

“And I want a team that competes hard and battles hard in everything they do,” she said. “We’re starting to see that – slowly – but it’s coming.”

The remainder of the U18 AA Lady Wolves roster includes goaltenders Chloe Trudeau and Kate Bouchard, defencemen Chloe Lefebvre, Rylee Morris, Gabriella Massimiliano, Gabrielle Foreshew and Ryann Chevrier and forwards Reese Williamson, Makayla Dunn, Leah Salo, Avery Mininni, Joely Angus, Carrington Parise and Gabby Cholette.

The team staff, beyond Pascal and Brunette, features assistant coaches Emma Chamberland, Elissa Bertuzzi, Kari Belec and Makenzy Arsenault (goalie coach) and co-managers Stacie Reinhardt and Kevin Miller.