When Danielle Marmer began working in player development for the Boston Bruins last year, head coach Jim Montgomery said something that stuck with her.
“In order to play at the highest level, you have to have hockey sense, and you have to have courage,” said Marmer. “To put it simply, you have to have head and heart.”
That will be the guiding force as Marmer takes the reins of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Boston team as its inaugural general manager. The hire was announced by the league Friday morning, along with the general managers for its five other teams, as the league begins an initial free agency period Friday afternoon.
”I am so excited to build a team in this city,” said Marmer in a press conference Friday.
The PWHL’s other five general managers will be former US national team captain and Minnesota women’s team assistant Natalie Darwitz (Minnesota), 2002 Canadian Olympic women’s coach Danièle Sauvageau (Montreal), longtime QMJHL general manager Pascal Daoust (New York), NHL Coaches’ Association executive director Michael Hirshfeld (Ottawa), and general manager of Canada’s women’s national team Gina Kingsbury (Toronto).
Born in Foxborough, the 29-year-old Marmer grew up in Dorset, Vt., where her mother Susan managed Manchester Center’s Riley Rink, a hotbed of hockey and figure skating activity.
After playing on youth teams galore in Vermont, Marmer took her talents to Connecticut prep school Loomis Chaffee. She stayed in the Nutmeg State to attend Quinnipiac, where she was a forward for the Bobcats, a power within ECAC Hockey, and part of the program’s winningest team before graduating in 2017.
Developing a strong mentorship with current Bobcats head coach Cassie Turner, Marmer put her initial plans to pursue a law career on hold to explore coaching. First working as an assistant with D3 Connecticut College, then returning to Quinnipiac in 2019 as the Director of Player Development, she developed strong ties within the New England coaching community while earning a master’s in strategic communication.
Turner remains one of Marmer’s strongest mentors, and she gave her another piece of advice that she carries into the PWHL job.
”It doesn’t matter if you are a leading scorer or lower on the depth chart,” said Marmer. “Every player has a role and is valued.”
After being a part of the Bruins’ Diversity and Inclusion Scouting Mentorship Program while working at Quinnipiac, the Bruins elevated Marmer to a full-time player development role in July 2022 — the first woman to earn such a role within the organization. That NHL experience made her stand out among the 60 general manager candidates identified by the PWHL’s leadership and consultants Bloom Sports Partners.
”We have an incredible amount of confidence in this group,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. “We have competitive GMs in place that are going to push us to be better.”
Marmer disclosed Friday she has a “verbal yes” from a head coaching candidate and is excited by the facilities that the team will play and practice in, but was unable to provide full details.
She also took an important step towards bridging the gap to fans of the former Boston Pride of the now-defunct Premier Hockey Federation. The PWHL leadership acquired the PHF earlier in the summer under controversial circumstances, angering longtime fans of the Pride. Between the former Canadian Women’s Hockey League’s Boston Blades and the Pride, pro women’s hockey teams in Boston have won five championships, and Marmer is one of the first PWHL officials to publicly acknowledge that history.
”This organization is not possible without the players from the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the NWHL, the PHF, and the PWHPA,” said Marmer. “They all built the love of women’s hockey in this city.”
Marmer will be off and running with Friday afternoon’s start to free agency, where the team can initially sign three players. Boston has the third pick in September 18th’s draft, which will go 15 rounds, and the team will build out its roster via additional free agency activity. Marmer’s aim will not just be players with Boston ties, but the best players in the talent pool.
”I expect to get three of the best players in the world,” she said.
PWHL draft order
Round 1: 1. Minnesota, 2. Toronto, 3. Boston, 4. New York, 5. Ottawa, 6. Montreal.
Round 2: 7. Montreal, 8. Ottawa, 9. New York, 10. Boston, 11. Toronto, 12. Minnesota.
Round 3: 13. Minnesota, 14. Toronto, 15. Boston, 16. New York, 17. Ottawa, 18. Montreal.
Round 4: 19. Montreal, 20. Ottawa, 21. New York, 22. Boston, 23. Toronto, 24. Minnesota.
Round 5: 25. Minnesota, 26. Toronto, 27. Boston, 28. New York, 29. Ottawa, 30. Montreal.
Round 6: 31. Montreal, 32. Ottawa, 33. New York, 34. Boston, 35. Toronto, 36. Minnesota.
Round 7: 37. Minnesota, 38. Toronto, 39. Boston, 40. New York, 41. Ottawa, 42. Montreal.
Round 8: 43. Montreal, 44. Ottawa, 45. New York, 46. Boston, 47. Toronto, 48. Minnesota.
Round 9: 49. Minnesota, 50. Toronto, 51. Boston, 52. New York, 53. Ottawa, 54. Montreal.
Round 10: 55. Montreal, 56. Ottawa, 57. New York, 58. Boston, 59. Toronto, 60. Minnesota.
Round 11: 61. Minnesota, 62. Toronto, 63. Boston, 64. New York, 65. Ottawa, 66. Montreal.
Round 12: 67. Montreal, 68. Ottawa, 69. New York, 70. Boston, 71. Toronto, 72. Minnesota.
Round 13: 73. Minnesota, 74. Toronto, 75. Boston, 76. New York, 77. Ottawa, 78. Montreal.
Round 14: 79. Montreal, 80. Ottawa, 81. New York, 82. Boston, 83. Toronto, 84. Minnesota.
Round 15: 85. Minnesota, 86. Toronto, 87. Boston, 88. New York, 89. Ottawa, 90. Montreal.
Kat Cornetta can be reached at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com.