Howie Draper (born April 3, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey coach for the University of Alberta. He has the most wins of any head coach in U Sports women's ice hockey history and was the inaugural head coach of PWHL New York.
Career Prior to his coaching career, Draper played five years of college ice hockey at the University of Alberta, totalling nine goals and 48 points in 115 games.
Draper coached the University of Alberta women's ice hockey team from 1997 to 2023, winning 14 Canada West titles and eight national championships, more than any other coach in U Sports women's ice hockey history. On January 10, 2020, Draper became the first coach to surpass 600 wins since the addition of women's hockey to U Sports with a 3–0 victory over Mount Royal University. He was named coach of the year in 2002, 2004, 2009, and 2019.
On September 15, 2023, the newly established Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) announced the coaches for its inaugural six franchises, including Draper as head coach of New York. New York struggled immensely under Draper, finishing in last place with a 5-4-3-12 record and at one point going over two months without a regulation win. Players on the team had reportedly asked for a change in coaching staff, with some describing the culture of the team as "toxic". On May 11, 2024, Draper and New York mutually agreed that he would not return as head coach in the fall. He remained on the team's staff as a special advisor within the scouting department.
Draper returned as head coach for the University of Alberta in the 2024–25 season.
In 2025, Draper was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.
Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1985–86 University of Alberta CW 26 2 5 7 36 — — — — — 1986–87 University of Alberta CW 43 2 8 10 55 — — — — — 1987–88 University of Alberta CW 12 0 5 5 22 — — — — — 1988–89 University of Alberta CW 27 2 12 14 48 — — — — — 1989–90 University of Alberta CW 25 3 11 14 28 — — — — — CIAU totals 115 9 39 48 179 — — — — —
Head coaching record U Sports National Tournament championsConference champions
Season Conf. Record Overall Postseason1997–98 None 3–1–0 Fifth, CIAU tournament1998–99 4–1–1 20–8–3 Second, CIAU tournament1999–00 15–1–1 26–3–1 CIAU tournament champions2000–01 13–1–2 20–6–2 Did not qualify2001–02 16–0–033–1–0 CIS tournament champions2002–03 19–0–134–0–1 CIS tournament champions2003–04 20–0–035–0–0 CIS tournament champions2004–05 20–0–028–1–0 Second, CIS tournament2005–06 16–1–327–3–3 CIS tournament champions2006–07 21–333–4–1 CIS tournament champions2007–08 21–2–129–5–1 Fourth, CIS tournament2008–09 22–2 26–5 Did not qualify2009–10 23–1–033–1 CIS tournament champions2010–11 17–7 25–14 Fifth, CIS tournament2011–12 14–10 23–16 Fifth, CIS tournament2012–13 16–12 25–16 Did not qualify2013–14 20–8 23–11 Did not qualify2014–15 20–8 28–14 Eighth, CIS tournament2015–16 16–12 21–14 Did not qualify2016–17 21–7 36–9 U Sports tournament champions2017–18 19–9 27–12 Did not qualify2018–19 23–5 33–7 Fourth, U Sports tournament2019–20 20–8 28–10 Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.2020–21Cancelled due financial reasons caused by the COVID-19 pandemic2021–2213–722–11Did not qualify2022–2321–728–12Did not qualify
PWHL Team Year Regular season Postseason G W OTW OTL L Pts Finish W L Win% Result NYC 2023–24 24 5 4 3 12 26 6th — — — Missed playoffsNYC total 24 5 4 3 12 — — — 0 playoff appearances
References
External links
U Sports player stats