Lions goaltender Emma Wedgewood has been selected as one of 22 U SPORTS student-athletes participating in the 2026–27 Creating Coaches program, a national initiative designed to increase the number of women coaching hockey in Canada.
The Creating Coaches program was launched in 2021 through a partnership between Hockey Canada, U SPORTS and the Hockey Canada Foundation. Participants receive mentorship from experienced coaches while developing practical coaching skills and completing coaching certifications. Participants work as assistant coaches for U18, U15, or U13 girls’ hockey teams in their communities. Wedgewood is the only York student-athlete selected for this year’s cohort, which includes representation from all four U SPORTS conferences.
During her time at York, Wedgewood watched previous Lions Alexa Giantsopoulos, Lexy Anonech, and Brooke Anderson participate in the program. “We’ve been very lucky and fortunate to have a lot of people actually come from [York],” says Wedgewood. This year, Creating Coaches expanded its recruitment in an attempt to include one student-athlete from each sports team, opening the doors to athletes across U SPORTS programs. To Wedgewood, this change is “really cool, because [the program] started out as something that was a lot smaller.” In her eyes, “having so many female mentors in this role goes to show how women’s hockey is at such an exciting point right now.”
Wedgewood will coach the Toronto Leaside U13 AA team in a full-circle moment for the fourth-year kinesiology and health science student. Wedgewood previously played in the Leaside organization before joining the Lions, where she finished her minor hockey career.
Adding another dimension to Wedgewood’s career is her goaltending past. The fourth-year goaltender appeared in 25 games during the 2024–25 season, posting a 2.00 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and three shutouts. She finished the season with a 10–14 record.
In her 2025–26 season, Wedgewood started York’s first 13 games before missing the second term with a knee injury. She went 6–7 with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage, including back-to-back shutouts against TMU and Carleton.
For Wedgewood, mentorship will come from York women’s hockey head coach Dan Church, and Kat McNeilly, the head coach of the Leaside team she will assist. The coaches aid in designing practices and coaching athletes both on and off the ice. In addition to working directly with her team, Wedgewood will participate in additional program opportunities, including virtual sessions aimed at providing participants with further coaching resources that will benefit both the players and coaches beyond the program’s conclusion.
“Once you kind of go through the two-year program, you’re set to do whatever you want with coaching,” Wedgewood says, emphasizing the plentiful resources and strong network available. “There’s so many people within the Hockey Canada association and everything that are there to help you.”
Hockey Canada vice-president of women’s and girls’ hockey Marin Hickox says the expansion of Creating Coaches comes as participation in women’s and girls’ hockey continues an upward trajectory, pinpointing the record-breaking participation each season. Expanding the Creating Coaches program is what Hickox calls “an important milestone to increase the number of women behind the bench.”
Creating Coaches is being expanded during National Coaches Week, which Hockey Canada is using to recognize the role that coaches play in developing athletes and supporting hockey communities across the country.
The 22 athletes selected for the 2026–27 cohort represent the Atlantic University Sport, Ontario University Athletics, Canada West and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec conferences. U SPORTS chief executive officer Pierre Arsenault says the program enables student-athletes to develop leadership skills while helping the next generation of players come into their own.
Wedgewood hopes to continue playing after completing Creating Coaches, but sees coaching as being another part of her future. “I definitely want to try and go as far as I can with hockey, and I hope I can go professional, whether that’s overseas or, hopefully, in the PWHL,” she states.
She goes on to explain that coaching gives her an opportunity to give back to the sport that has shaped her life. “I think that’s the super cool part, knowing that I can still have a relationship with hockey, even if I’m not playing.”
For Wedgewood, staying involved in hockey extends beyond continuing her own career, also encompassing helping younger players develop the same connection to the sport that she experienced. Wedgewood reflects that she finds joy in playing hockey, “but there’s also joy in watching the younger generation succeed at their goals and fall in love with the game.”
As Wedgewood begins the two-year program, she will balance her role as a U SPORTS athlete with her first experience behind the bench, giving her a chance to learn from the next generation while helping shape it.
