Boston Fleet names Kris Sparre as Head Coach

The Boston Fleet of the PWHL have named Kris Sparre as the second head coach in franchise history ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Sparre joins the Fleet with more than nine years of coaching experience and a strong track record of player development and team success. He most recently spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, the top affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.

Prior to his time in San Diego, Sparre served as associate coach with the Flint Firebirds during the 2021-22 season, helping the club post a franchise-best 42-21-1-4 record and reach the Western Conference Final for the first time. The Mississauga, Ont., native also spent two seasons as an assistant coach for Red Bull Salzburg of Austria’s top professional hockey league from 2019-21. His coaching career began in 2016 with the Niagara IceDogs, where he spent three seasons as an assistant coach. The IceDogs made the playoffs in each of those campaigns and captured the Central Division title in 2019.

Sparre is also no stranger to the OHL as a player, having suited up for the Barrie Colts from 2005 to 2008 and the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors during the 2007-08 season.

“I’m honoured and thrilled to be named the head coach of the Boston Fleet,” said Sparre. “This is an incredible opportunity to be part of a league that has experienced remarkable growth and momentum in recent seasons. Boston stands as one of the premier sports cities in the world, and I look forward to building a program that is capable of contending for a championship every season.”

He is excited to make the jump to women’s hockey where he will be able to continue working with elite athletes.

“It was important for me that I wanted to work with the highest level of athletes possible,” he said. “They’re motivated people. They want to get better. That’s my skillset; that’s my wheelhouse. That’s where I want to live. And so when this opportunity came up, I didn’t look at it as ‘men’s (vs.) women’s.’ I looked at it as the best option to work with the best in the world.”

Sparre takes over from Courtney Kessel, who guided the team to a 27-19-8 record and an appearance in the Walter Cup Final before departing to lead the women’s hockey program at Princeton University.

He inherits a roster that includes 18 players under contract for the upcoming campaign – eight of whom were part of the team’s run to the PWHL’s first-ever Walter Cup Final. However, the club will be looking to fill a significant void left by captain and league MVP finalist Hilary Knight. The 36-year-old, who tied for the league lead in scoring with 29 points, was left unprotected in the expansion draft and is set to join Seattle for the upcoming season.