Kelly Cooke

Not to be confused with Kelly Cook.

Kelly Cooke
Cooke in 2021
Born (1990-10-29) October 29, 1990 (age 34)
Andover, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 1 in (155 cm)
Weight 119 lb (54 kg; 8 st 7 lb)
Position Forward
Shot Left
Played for Princeton Tigers
Boston Blades
Boston Pride
Playing career 2009–2016

Kelly Cooke (born October 29, 1990) is an American ice hockey official, currently serving as a referee in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). A retired ice hockey forward, she played with the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, and with the Boston Pride of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; previously NWHL) during the 2015–16 season. Her college ice hockey career was spent with the Princeton Tigers in the ECAC Hockey conference of the NCAA Division 1.

Playing career

After graduating from Princeton University in 2013, Cooke was selected by the Boston Blades with the 35th overall pick in the 2013 CWHL Draft. In 2015, Cooke signed with the Boston Pride of the newly-created National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) professional league. On December 31, 2015, she participated in the 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic, the first outdoor professional women's ice hockey game.[1]

Following her retirement from the NWHL in 2016, Cooke served as the league's Director of Player Safety.[2]

Officiating career

In September 2019, Cooke became one of four women to officiate at the NHL level for the first time, working in an NHL Prospect Tournament hosted by the Nashville Predators in Nashville, Tennessee.[3]

Cooke was also joined by Katie Guay, Kendall Hanley, and Kirsten Welsh as officials who worked the Elite Women's 3-on-3 event at the 2020 National Hockey League All-Star Game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.[4]

Also in 2020, Cooke served as a referee at the 2020 IIHF Women's U18 World Championship and officiated the bronze medal game, a 6–1 victory by Russia over Finland.[5]

Cooke officiates at the Professional Women's Hockey League, which started in 2024.[6]

Personal

Cooke graduated from the Northeastern University School of Law in 2019.[7]

References

  1. ^ Lane, John (January 1, 2016). "Women's hockey happy for Winter Classic showcase". NHL. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "Officiating Pioneer Kelly Cooke Returns to Lead NWHL Player Safety Committee". National Women's Hockey League (Press release). October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  3. ^ Wawrow, John (September 6, 2019). "In NHL first, 4 women selected to officiate prospect games". CBC Sports. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Benjamin, Amalie (January 15, 2020). "NHL All-Star Weekend adds Elite Women's 3-on-3 game". NHL. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  5. ^ "IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship, Bronze Medal Game, Game 20 – Game Summary" (PDF). IIHF. January 2, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  6. ^ https://www.thepwhl.com/en/stats/game-center/43
  7. ^ Thomsen, Ian (September 6, 2019). "For more than 100 years, the NHL had been a man's league. Then she was asked to make the calls". Northeastern University. Retrieved February 18, 2020.