[OT] CU women's hockey coach to coach Team Canada

Melody Davidson, the women's hockey coach, was named head coach of Team Canada thru the 2006 Olympics. You've gotta figure this will be a big draw in recruiting players from north of the border.

[Q]CALGARY (CP) - Melody Davidson, who coached the Canadian women's hockey team to a world title four years ago and who was an assistant coach when it won Olympic gold two years ago, has been handed the top job again and is eager to get started.



"I think the players are excited to have me as their leader and I'm not going to let them down," Davidson said Monday after being by Hockey Canada to guide the team through the 2006 Winter Games. "We're going to have a lot of fun and we're going to be successful." [/Q]

[Q]Davidson, a native of Oyen, Alta., has served in various coaching, scouting, hockey development and coach mentorship capacities with the women's program the last 12 years. She will continue as head coach at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., in the autumn and take a leave of absence next year to put her full attention on extending Canada's streak of world championships, then build a lineup for the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy. [/Q]

[news.yahoo.com]

Way to go Coach Davidson! Cornell's been getting better by the day under her watch, and apparently she beat out the likes of Harvard, Dartmouth, and Minnesota for a few of next year's recruits. (Disclaimer: this info is based on comments on the USCHO women's board, and articles posted there)

I think the women's team is headed in the right direction - I just hope Davidson's leave of absence isn't a setback.

It's a great opportunity for Davidson, and a nice bit of publicity for the women's program.

Just think of all the great things that Tim Taylor's national coaching duties did for Yale...

(Congrats to Coach Davidson. It is quite an honor and I don't want my snark to override what I think is something pretty cool for her and for Cornell.)