- SUNY Potsdam coach Olivia Cook worked the Canadiens development camp as a guest coach
- She is one of the few Indigenous head coaches anywhere in NCAA hockey
- Read below for the Martin St. Louis line that nearly brought her to tears
Martin St. Louis nearly made Olivia Cook cry at Canadiens development camp, and he meant it as a compliment.
Cook runs the women’s hockey program at SUNY Potsdam, a Division III school in northern New York, and she spent June 30 to July 2 as a guest coach in Brossard. She was talking leadership with the Canadiens bench boss when one phrase stopped her.
“One of the things that he said was he’s demanding without being demeaning, and that’s been said about my coaching style before,” Cook told William Douglas of NHL.com. “I almost started to cry hearing that.”
Montreal brought in nine guest coaches for the three days. Kori Cheverie and four members of her staff from the PWHL champion Montreal Victoire were there, along with Yanick Jean of QMJHL champion Chicoutimi, Olivier Latendresse of Collège Charles-Lemoyne and retired NHL goalie Mike Condon.
The 34-year-old, who is Akwesasne Mohawk, said reading that list was its own moment.
“I looked at the resume of the other guest coaches, and you had the all the coaching staff of the Montreal Victoire, and I was, like, ‘Wow,’” she said. “And I’ve been a fan of the Montreal Canadiens for years. They’re two hours from the ‘res.’ I couldn’t believe I was part of them for a few days. It was a dream.”
Her own program celebrated the invite the week it happened:
Potsdam went 6-13-4 in 2024-25 and 11-13-2 last season, reaching the SUNY Athletic Conference tournament for the first time in program history.
Cook played three seasons at Cornell, then went home to Akwesasne to work in substance abuse and suicide prevention programs. She got into college coaching at Potsdam only after a campus custodian struck up a conversation and told her she should try it.
John Chabot, the former Canadiens forward who recommended her for the camp, does not expect her to stay in Division III long.
“I honestly think that sooner than later she’ll get an assistant coaching job, whether it be with the PWHL or with an NHL franchise,” Chabot said.
Traffic between the NHL and women’s college hockey has run both directions this summer. Jack Johnson joined Ohio State’s women’s staff in July after a long NHL playing career.
Camp in Brossard finished with an intrasquad scrimmage. Take a look at the full broadcast:
Cook coaches games wearing jewelry made by Niio Perkins, a Mohawk designer, and other Indigenous artists. She calls it armor.
She finished her bachelor’s degree in 2024 while already running the program, and she marched at commencement with the rest of the graduating class. She had waited more than a decade to walk.
