No History, All Opportunity: The Power of Day One Leadership

There’s a rare kind of leadership challenge where you don’t walk into tradition - you build it. No history. No banners. No blueprint.

That’s what makes coaching in the PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League) - especially in a brand-new market like Vancouver - such a powerful opportunity. It’s not about fitting into an existing system. It’s about creating one.

With the announcement of PWHL Vancouver as the league’s seventh franchise, the organization is now searching for its first-ever head coach. Vancouver joins a league that’s only two years old, but its arrival expands the PWHL’s national footprint and brings the sport to a new fanbase on the West Coast. While every hire matters, this one is foundational.

“We’re looking for someone with really great leadership skills,” said Jayna Hefford, the league’s SVP of Hockey Operations. “Someone who can build a culture and a professional environment for our athletes that focuses on development and uses the latest tools and analytics to help them improve.”

In traditional leagues, new coaches inherit expectations, systems, and history. In the PWHL, they inherit potential - and the pressure that comes with it.

“People now know who we are, what we’re about, and the type of success we’ve reached to date,” Hefford said. Whoever steps into the role will have to both create a team culture and live up to the culture of excellence the league has been cultivating since day one.

So what kind of leader succeeds when there’s no legacy to lean on?

“Leadership comes in a lot of different forms,” Hefford expresssed. “There’s not just one thing. But someone in this role needs to build a team, build a culture, build a staff - and bring knowledge of the game and the players.”

That idea - that leadership is less about fitting a mold and more about crafting one - echoes a central message from “Legacy,” James Kerr’s book about the All Blacks rugby team: “Be a good ancestor.” There’s no tradition to maintain - only one to imagine. The responsibility of shaping what doesn’t yet exist is its own kind of pressure.

That’s what the new head coach of PWHL Vancouver will be asked to do: build the habits, standards, language, and leadership frameworks that future players and coaches will inherit. Set the tone for what “Vancouver hockey” will mean - not just this season, but in a decade. In pro sports, most coaches step into history. This one will be asked to write it.

Because when there’s no legacy to protect, there’s also none to hide behind. There are no shortcuts when you’re the one writing the manual. For anyone building something from scratch - on the ice or off - it’s a reminder that real leadership is about what you create.

Legacy doesn’t build itself. The first steps always belong to the brave. Let’s ask ourselves:

• Am I building something that will outlast me, or just managing what’s here now?

• When the playbook doesn’t exist, can I trust my values to guide the way?

• Am I creating a standard, or waiting for one to be handed to me?

Because in the end, the greatest measure of leadership isn’t what you inherit—it’s what you leave behind. And for the right leader, there’s no greater opportunity than that.

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