ARLINGTON, Va. -- Quinnipiac women's hockey coach Cassie Turner would normally spend the first week of her winter break relaxing. Instead, she was a guest coach with the Washington Capitals at practice the past two days.
Turner preferred the working vacation.
"This was outstanding because I think anything I could've done to get refreshed and ready would not have been like this," Turner said Wednesday. "That's how I feel. I just feel excited for the second half of our season, and I don't need any time off. This was the time off and it's got me in such a great place."
Turner is in her ninth season as Quinnipiac's coach after seven as an assistant and associate with the women's ice hockey program. She was connected with Washington through the NHL Coaches' Association's Female Coaches Development Program. The Capitals hosted Minnesota Duluth assistant Laure Schuler as a guest coach during their 2022 development camp and Schuler returned periodically last season to assist the Capitals and their American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey.
When NHLCA executive director Lindsay Pennal told Turner that the Capitals wanted to bring in another guest coach this season, the 42-year-old jumped at the opportunity. She credited coach Spencer Carbery for including her in everything from the coaching staff meetings to the drills on the ice.
"I think Spencer certainly has had a really open mind to creating an experience that I don't know that everyone gets," Turner said. "I think he really wanted me to be involved and I've been a part of everything for the past two days and I've really been able to listen and learn, which has been amazing."
Turner, a defenseman and two-time captain at Brown University (1999-2003) during her playing career, has had her share of success as a coach with Quinnipiac and Hockey Canada.
Quinnipiac is 17-3-0 this season, including 10-0-0 at home, after going 30-10-0 last season, when it lost to Ohio State in the NCAA Regional Tournament Final. In 2015-16, Turner's first season, Quinnipiac won 30 games (30-3-5) and hosted an NCAA tournament game for the first time in its history. Turner also set the NCAA record for wins by a women's ice hockey coach in her/his first season.
Turner coached Canada to the silver medal at the 2015 IIHF Women's Under-18 World Championship after being an assistant when Canada won gold at the 2014 under-18 Worlds.
So Carbery wanted to learn from Turner, as well.
"She's been phenomenal," Carbery said. "We've been picking her brain. … It's been great and her being able to come and spend a few days here and sit in on the meetings and pick up on some things that we do as an organization and us also pick up on some things that she does at her program and why they've been successful."
Washington hired Emily Engel-Natzke as its video coordinator last season, making her the first female video coach in NHL history. Turner hopes that experiences like the one she had with the Capitals this week will eventually lead to opportunities for women to coach in the NHL.
"I think it totally can open doors," she said. "It may not be me, but I think even these players having a female around and seeing me out on the ice and in that scenario, it could be the next girl that comes that everyone is just a little more open to it and understands that it's the same game and we can all coach this game and contribute."
