Mel Davidson joined the PHF in May 2022 as the Director of League and Hockey Operations.
Davidson is a pioneer within the sport and widely regarded as the most important figure in Canadian women’s hockey history with a legendary career at Hockey Canada that spanned 26 years with roles in almost every major international triumph for Canada’s National Women’s Team.
In her role, Davidson will provide general hockey operations guidance and support as it relates to the structure of the PHF regular season, playoffs, and offseason processes, and help develop and navigate the Federation’s relationships with key partners across the hockey community in North America and internationally.
Davidson’s previous roles with Team Canada included head coach, assistant coach, general manager, and head scout across 36 different events compiling a medal in every single instance. Her highlights include four straight Winter Olympic gold medals in women’s hockey beginning as an assistant coach in 2002, then serving as head coach in 2006 and 2010, and general manager in 2014. She’s also won five IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medals and 10 gold medals at the 4 Nations Cup.
The Oyen, Alberta native earned a diploma from Red Deer College and completed her undergraduate education at the University of Alberta. Davidson has coached women’s hockey programs at Connecticut College and Cornell University. She was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2011 for her coaching achievements, and again in 2019 as part of the 2010 Olympic team. Davidson was also inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.
She will continue her full-time role with Own the Podium where she’s spent the last two years as a high-performance advisor for summer sport. She is also a consultant for the Winnipeg ICE and has been a prominent voice on the IIHF Female Committee since 2010. In January, Davidson served as an honorary coach at the 2022 PHF All-Star Showcase in Buffalo.