New Furies coach married into Kessel clan

CALGARY When Courtney Kessel was named head coach of the Toronto Furies, general manager Sami Jo Small says she received Twitter messages asking her why she hired Phil Kessel’s sister.

So to clarify, Courtney Kessel is the sister-in-law of the NHL player and former Toronto Maple Leaf, not sister Amanda, who plays for the U.S. women’s national team.

Courtney Birchard may have married into American hockey royalty when she and Blake Kessel wed last year, but she has her own hockey pedigree.

The defender from Toronto played in three women’s world championships for Canada — twice against Amanda — and won gold in 2012.

Several former Canadian team players are taking on leadership and coaching roles at the highest levels of the women’s game, but Kessel is on a fast track. She still has playing years left in her at age 29, but unexpected opportunities aligned this year with coaching ambitions she’d long harboured.

“When I was playing and on the bench, I’d be thinking in my head about coaching techniques,” Kessel told The Canadian Press.

“I think by the end of my career, I knew this was my passion because I was coaching while I was in full gear and the girls really respected what I had to say.”

Hockey Canada has brought her into its coaching ranks. Kessel was in Calgary this week as an assistant coach of the national under-18 women’s team.

She was a last-minute replacement in January for an assistant who stepped down from the development team staff for the Nations Cup in Germany.

Hockey Canada’s endorsement helped overcome the fears of Small and Canadian Women’s Hockey League executives that Kessel didn’t have enough experience to be head coach of the Furies.

“It added to her resume,” Small said. “I wanted her as part of the staff.”