Just 36 years old, Cheverie has already put together a terrific career in the sport as both a coach and a player, getting inspired to try it out at the age of 10 after watching the Mighty Ducks movies. But growing up in a single-parent household in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, hockey wasn’t necessarily something the family could afford.
“So, I made kind of an agreement with my mom that if I could get my gear, could she pay for my registration?” Cheverie said. “I had a yard sale. It was enough to get my gear, and it was hilarious – it was like, $90 that got this bag of random stuff.”
Her mother, who held up her end of the bargain, recently ran into a man who had contributed to Korie’s cause, “and he was kind of like, wow, I can't believe her career has gone in that direction,” she said with a laugh.
Cheverie, a forward, went on to star at St. Mary’s University in her home province of Halifax before playing six seasons in the Canadian Women's Hockey League with the Toronto Furies and Aeros from 2010-16. She probably could have continued her career for longer, but felt ready to move into coaching at that point, so Cheverie made the decision to hang them up.
“I was now one of the older players on my team in the CWHL, and so it kind of just felt like a natural progression,” Cheverie said. “It was something where I wanted to stay in the game, but maybe not as a player anymore, and to still be able to have an opportunity in the game.”
Cheverie began her coaching career as the assistant coach of Ryerson University from 2016-21, becoming the first woman to be named a full-time assistant with a men's hockey program in U SPORTS history.
From there, Cheverie joined the Canadian National Women’s Team, serving as an assistant coach since 2021. She won a gold medal at the 2022 Olympic Games with Team Canada, and has served as the assistant coach at the last three World Championships, winning the gold medal in 2021 and '22.
Cheverie then became the first woman to coach a Canadian men's national team when she served as an assistant coach at the World Under-18 Junior Championship in 2022, before spending last season as the associate head coach of Team Harvey's of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association.
“It’s been a lot in a short period of time,” she said with a laugh. “The nice thing is that I think it's really benefited me and my development as a coach. It’s like, you're in it, you're in the deep end – swim and figure it out. So, it's really just learning as you go, and I've had a lot of really good mentors along the way who have helped me. They’ve put me in those situations, too, but then have helped me in those situations.”
Her resume spoke for itself when Lindsay Pennal, executive director of the NHL Coaches’ Association, first helped Cheverie and the Penguins connect as part of the Guest Coach Program. A call with Sullivan confirmed that Cheverie would be a good fit, and he came away with the utmost respect for her abilities.
She took part in their hockey talks, discussions, and preparation process; was active in practices and ran drills; and became the first woman to stand behind the bench in a coaching capacity for Pittsburgh during their preseason matchup with Columbus on Sunday. The Penguins Head Coach particularly admired Cheverie’s competence, preparation, and presentation skills in front of the group.
“She wasn't intimidated by our players at all,” Sullivan said. “She was very articulate. She has a real good command of the game. She was very insightful, and I think our coaching staff were the benefactors of that. It was great to have her around. She brings a real positive energy to the rink, and that's contagious. So, it was great to have around in the time we've had her.”
Cheverie has now blazed trails for women in the men’s game at multiple levels, and each time, it gets a lot more comfortable. She admits that it can feel scary, and requires a certain level of confidence – but that there IS an avenue for women who want to coach on that side, filled with lots of support.
“I know for a lot of these guys, they may have never had a female coach before, especially not on the bench. But it's been nothing but true professionalism from the guys and from the entire organization,” she said. “I think that's the way that sports in general are going, and really life in general is going that way as well.
“I've had obviously nothing but a great experience here, and it's put me in a spot where I get to interact with more athletes and more professional athletes. So that's been something that's amazing for me, and I think that the athletes just see me as another coach who's able to give them feedback and help grow their game.”
Cheverie is looking forward to taking her experiences and stories from the pro environment in Pittsburgh to the pro environment in Montreal, going from working with fellow Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby to coaching a team headlined by Marie-Philip Poulin, widely regarded as the best player in the world.
This isn’t just any head coaching opportunity – it’s one that means so much to Cheverie not just on a professional level, but a personal one as well, having experienced the struggles those on the women’s side have faced just trying to make a living in the sport they love. The PWHL has been years in the making, and its creation marks a pivotal moment for women’s hockey.
“Thinking back to being a player and working a full-time job and then having to go to practice at 9:30 PM at night, I just think about how much work has gone into all the women who have paved the way before now,” she said. “The opportunity for coaches, staff, players to make a livable wage and be able to do what they love, like, it truly is going to be pro hockey, right? It's no longer your secondary job.”
It's the first time Cheverie won’t need to have another job while coaching, either. She’ll be plenty busy with her new responsibilities, with the 24-game regular season beginning in January 2024. That means it might be tricky to maintain her relationship with the Penguins, “but I’ve learned a ton. So, I really hope to continue, but I also am really excited that I get my own Pittsburgh in Montreal.”
