Lauren Williams (ice hockey)

Lauren Williams (born September 9, 1996) is a Canadian professional women's ice hockey coach and former player. She is currently an assistant coach for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League.[1] Prior to joining the staff of the Sirens, she coached at Stonehill College (2022–23) and Mount Royal University (2023–24).

Lauren Williams
Born September 9, 1996 (1996-09-09) (age 28)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Position Defenceman
Shot Right
Played for PWHPA New England
Worcester Blades
Wisconsin Badgers
Current PWHL coach New York Sirens (asst.)
Coached for Stonehill College
Mount Royal University
Playing career 2018–2022

Williams previously played 3 years in the PWHPA (2019–22)[2] after spending one year with the Worcester Blades of the CWHL (2018–19), having been drafted first overall.[3] She is an alumna of the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey program.

Playing career

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Williams won a gold medal with Team Ontario Blue at the 2012 Canadian U18 National Championships.

University of Wisconsin

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Williams joined the University of Wisconsin for the 2014–15 season. In her senior year, Williams was named an alternate captain.[4][5]

CWHL

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Williams was selected by the Worcester Blades with the first pick overall in the 2018 CWHL Draft.[6] As the first overall pick, the Blades pre-signed her for the 2018–19 season.[7] She was named the Blades only participant of the 4th Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game.[8][9]

Career statistics

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Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM PPG
2014–15 Wisconsin Badgers WCHA 25 1 0 1 0 0
2015–16 Wisconsin Badgers WCHA 38 1 4 5 8 0
2016–17 Wisconsin Badgers WCHA 40 1 7 8 4 0
2017–18 Wisconsin Badgers WCHA 38 3 9 12 12 0

Source:[10]

Awards and honours

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  • Academic All-Big Ten team (2017–18) [11]
  • WCHA All-Academic Team (2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18)
  • WCHA Scholar Athlete (2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18)

Personal

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Williams majored in sociology and psychology at the University of Wisconsin. With teammate Annie Pankowski, the two volunteered with Occupaws, an organization that trains guide dogs for the visually impaired in Wisconsin and bordering states.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Kennedy, Ian (July 9, 2024). "New York Rounds Out Coaching Staff Hiring Lauren Williams". TheHockeyNews.com. The Hockey News. Retrieved July 9, 2024. PWHL New York has added a third member to their 2024-2025 coaching staff hiring Lauren Williams as an assistant coach from Mount Royal University.
  2. ^ "Female hockey players wrestle with choice of choosing pro league | CBC Sports". Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  3. ^ David Alter, The Canadian Press (August 27, 2018). "CWHL commissioner Jayna Hefford aims for improved visibility of women's hockey". Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "LAUREN WILLIAMS". uwbadgers.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "Lauren Williams Takes Even Success in Stride". Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Michelle Jay (August 26, 2018). "Who went where in the 2018 CWHL Draft". TheIceGarden.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  7. ^ @TheCWHL (August 26, 2018). "The Worcester Blades announce they have pre-signed former University of Wisconsin-Madison defenseman Lauren Williams! Lauren was on the WCHA All-Academic team and was a WCHA Scholar athlete from 2015 – 2018" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "CWHL All-Star Series: Lauren Williams | Worcester Blades | Women's Hockey Life". January 31, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Lauren Williams looks to lead Worcester Blades | Women's Hockey Life". November 27, 2018. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Lauren Williams: Career Statistics". USCHO.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  11. ^ "Wisconsin places 156 on Academic All-Big Ten team". Wisconsin Badgers Athletics. May 31, 2018. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  12. ^ Andy Baggot (May 11, 2018). "Impact of volunteering at heart of giving back". Wisconsin Badgers Athletics. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by CWHL first overall draft pick
2018
Succeeded by
None