Kelly Paton

Kelly Paton
Born (1988-04-16) April 16, 1988
Woodstock, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Weight 54 kg (119 lb; 8 st 7 lb)
Position Forward
Shot Left
team London Devilettes
New Hampshire Wildcats
ZSC Lions
Boston Blades
Current coach Laurier Golden Hawks
Coached for
Playing career 2005–2016
Coaching career 2015–present

Kelly Paton (born April 16, 1988) is a former ice hockey player and current coach. Paton is the head coach and manager of hockey operations with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's ice hockey program. In 2024, she won the BFL Canada Women in Coaching Award - High Performance Category (awarded by Hockey Canada).[1] She served as head coach for the Canadian women's team in Ice hockey at the 2025 Winter World University Games,[2] finishing with a silver medal.[3]

Playing career

Earning All-America honors in 2010, Paton accumulated 162 points in 141 career games with New Hampshire.

During the 2015–16 season, Paton appeared in one game for the Boston Blades as an emergency player. On November 22, 2015, she suited up for the Blades in a road game versus the Brampton Thunder, logging a pair of penalty minutes in a 3–0 loss.[4]

Coaching career

Paton served on the coaching staff for the London Devilettes of the Provincial Women's Hockey League.

During the 2015–16 season, she served as an assistant coach for the Western Mustangs women's hockey team. From 2016 to 2018, Paton was the Mustangs head coach. In 2018, she led the Mustangs to the McCaw Cup, the second in program history. Qualifying for the 2018 U Sports Women's Ice Hockey Championship, the Mustangs reached the finals versus the Manitoba Bisons, emerging with a silver medal.[5]

Since 2018, Paton is the head coach for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's ice hockey.[6] In the 2024–25 season, she was recognized as the OUA Coach of the Year. Among the highlights of the season, the Golden Hawks were nationally ranked for the first time since 2014, and they did not allow a shorthanded goal [7] For 2025–26, she followed it up with a first-place finish in the OUA West Division, as the Golden Hawks won 21 of 26 games, emerging with the best record in the conference.[8]

Awards and honours

  • Hockey East Player of the Month, October 2009[9]
  • Hockey East Player of the Month, November 2009
  • Hockey East Player of the Month, February 2010[10]
  • 2010 Hockey East First-Team All-Star[11]
  • 2010 Hockey East Co-Player of the Year[12]
  • Finalist, 2010 Patty Kazmaier Award
  • 2010 Frozen Four Skills Competition participant[13]
  • 2010 Women's RBK Hockey Division I All-America First Team [14]

Coaching

  • 2024 BFL Canada Women in Coaching Award - High Performance Category (awarded by Hockey Canada) [1]
  • 2024-25 OUA Coach of the Year [15]
  • 2025-26 OUA West Coach of the Year [16]

References

  1. ^ a b Coulter, Shannon (2024-07-03). "The Importance of Mentorship". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  2. ^ "Laurier Kelly Paton to coach Canadian women's team at 2025 FISU World Winter University Games". en.usports.ca. 2024-10-12. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  3. ^ "Day 10 Recap 2025 FISU World Winter University Games". en.usports.ca. 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  4. ^ "#19 Kelly Paton Boston Blades". pointstreak.com. 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  5. ^ "Mustangs claim silver at U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship". westernmustangs.ca. March 18, 2018. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  6. ^ "Kelly Paton named head coach of Golden Hawks WHKY program". www.laurierathletics.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  7. ^ "Kelly Paton named OUA women's hockey coach of the year". www.laurierathletics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  8. ^ "Golden Hawks clinch first overall in OUA with senior night victory". www.laurierathletics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  9. ^ "HockeyEastOnline.com – Monthly Honors". Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Hockey East Online". Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  11. ^ "HockeyEastOnline.com – Hockey East Press Releases". Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  12. ^ "HockeyEastOnline.com – Hockey East Press Releases". Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  13. ^ "Trio Among NCAA Skills Challenge Participants". ECAC Hockey. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  14. ^ "Cornell University Athletics – Women's Hockey Trio Garners All-American Honors". Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  15. ^ "Trio of teams take home multiple awards to headline accolades on ice". 2025-03-12. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  16. ^ "Hudson, Heard headline women's hockey's highest hobours". OUA.ca. 2026-03-11. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
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