Howie Draper
Canadian hockey coach (born 1967)
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Howie Draper (born April 3, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey coach for the University of Alberta. He has the most wins of any head coach in U Sports women's ice hockey history and was the inaugural head coach of PWHL New York.
| Howie Draper | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 3, 1967 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defence | ||||||||||||||||
| Played for | University of Alberta | ||||||||||||||||
| Current U Sports coach | University of Alberta | ||||||||||||||||
| Coached for | PWHL New York | ||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1985–1990 | ||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1997–present | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Career
Prior to his coaching career, Draper played five years of college ice hockey at the University of Alberta, totalling nine goals and 48 points in 115 games.[1]
Draper coached the University of Alberta women's ice hockey team from 1997 to 2023, winning 14 Canada West titles and eight national championships, more than any other coach in U Sports women's ice hockey history.[2] On January 10, 2020, Draper became the first coach to surpass 600 wins since the addition of women's hockey to U Sports with a 3–0 victory over Mount Royal University.[3] He was named coach of the year in 2002, 2004, 2009, and 2019.[4]
On September 15, 2023, the newly established Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) announced the coaches for its inaugural six franchises, including Draper as head coach of New York.[5] New York struggled immensely under Draper, finishing in last place with a 5-4-3-12 record and at one point going over two months without a regulation win.[6][7] Players on the team had reportedly asked for a change in coaching staff, with some describing the culture of the team as "toxic".[8] On May 11, 2024, Draper and New York mutually agreed that he would not return as head coach in the fall. He remained on the team's staff as a special advisor within the scouting department.[9][10]
Draper returned as head coach for the University of Alberta in the 2024–25 season.[11]
In 2025, Draper was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.[12]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1985–86 | University of Alberta | CW | 26 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | University of Alberta | CW | 43 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | University of Alberta | CW | 12 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | University of Alberta | CW | 27 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | University of Alberta | CW | 25 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| CIAU totals | 115 | 9 | 39 | 48 | 179 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Head coaching record
U Sports
| National Tournament champions | Conference Champions |
| Season | Conf. Record | Overall | Postseason | |
| 1997–98 | None | 3–1–0 | Fifth, CIAU tournament | |
| 1998–99 | 4–1–1 | 20–8–3 | Second, CIAU tournament | |
| 1999–00 | 15–1–1 | 26–3–1 | CIAU tournament champions | |
| 2000–01 | 13–1–2 | 20–6–2 | Did not qualify | |
| 2001–02 | 16–0–0 | 33–1–0 | CIS tournament champions | |
| 2002–03 | 19–0–1 | 34–0–1 | CIS tournament champions | |
| 2003–04 | 20–0–0 | 35–0–0 | CIS tournament champions | |
| 2004–05 | 20–0–0 | 28–1–0 | Second, CIS tournament | |
| 2005–06 | 16–1–3 | 27–3–3 | CIS tournament champions | |
| 2006–07 | 21–3 | 33–4–1 | CIS tournament champions | |
| 2007–08 | 21–2–1 | 29–5–1 | Fourth, CIS tournament | |
| 2008–09 | 22–2 | 26–5 | Did not qualify | |
| 2009–10 | 23–1–0 | 33–1 | CIS tournament champions | |
| 2010–11 | 17–7 | 25–14 | Fifth, CIS tournament | |
| 2011–12 | 14–10 | 23–16 | Fifth, CIS tournament | |
| 2012–13 | 16–12 | 25–16 | Did not qualify | |
| 2013–14 | 20–8 | 23–11 | Did not qualify | |
| 2014–15 | 20–8 | 28–14 | Eighth, CIS tournament | |
| 2015–16 | 16–12 | 21–14 | Did not qualify | |
| 2016–17 | 21–7 | 36–9 | U Sports tournament champions | |
| 2017–18 | 19–9 | 27–12 | Did not qualify | |
| 2018–19 | 23–5 | 33–7 | Fourth, U Sports tournament | |
| 2019–20 | 20–8 | 28–10 | Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[13] | |
| 2020–21 | Cancelled due financial reasons caused by the COVID-19 pandemic[14] | |||
| 2021–22 | 13–7 | 22–11 | Did not qualify | |
| 2022–23 | 21–7 | 28–12 | Did not qualify | |