Fecteau, Cheverie honoured by PWHL
Emmy Fecteau, formerly of the Concordia Stingers, and Kori Cheverie, who played at Saint Mary’s and was an assistant coach at what is now called Toronto Metropolitan, were both honoured by the Professional Women’s Hockey League at their annual award ceremony held in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Fecteau was named the New York Sirens’ winner of the Intact Impact Award, which honours one player on each team who consistently went the extra mile to help the team and be a great teammate, displaying exceptional leadership, integrity, and an unwavering commitment.
With the win, Fecteau becomes the first U SPORTS player to win an on-ice award in the PWHL’s two-year history. Fecteau, who played 30 games for the Sirens last year, went to New York after a U SPORTS career that culminated with her being named a Top 8 Academic All-Canadian – one of the highest honours for a U SPORTS athlete – for the 2022-23 season. She also won a gold medal with Canada at the 2023 World Winter University Games, two U SPORTS championships with the Stingers (2022 and 2024) and was named the Hockey Canada Female Player of the Year in 2023 and the Marion Hilliard Award winner for student-athlete community service in 2024.
Cheverie was named the league’s coach of the year, after leading Montreal to a first-place finish with a 19-8-3 record and 53 points. Cheverie’s coaching career started in 2016-17, when she joined Ryerson (now Toronto Metropolitan) as an assistant coach, where she stayed for four seasons. As a player, she spent five years with the Saint Mary’s Huskies and won gold with Team Canada at the 2009 Winter Universiade in Harbin, China. Cheverie is the second U SPORTS alum to win coach of the year honours, following Troy Ryan, who won the award last season.
Earlier in the week, the league held its annual entry draft, and Chanreet Bassi of UBC was drafted by the new PWHL club in Vancouver in the 6th round, 48th overall. Bassi’s choice represents several firsts, as the Lake Country, B.C., product is the first South Asian player to be selected in a PWHL Draft, the first Canada West and the first UBC Thunderbird to be drafted by a PWHL.
The 2025-26 PWHL season is set to get underway this November. The 2025-26 U SPORTS season will start with non-conference games in September, with conference play beginning in October, leading up to the 2026 U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship, set for the Waterloo Region of Ontario from March 19-22.