PWHL Ottawa announced its first-ever leadership group Friday evening, naming Brianne Jenner captain and Jincy Roese and Emily Clark as alternate captains.
“It wasn’t just the choice of the coaching staff,” Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod told The Ice Garden following the announcement. MacLeod said that everyone had Jenner at the “top of their list” for captain.
“Her natural demeanour is highly professional, and her attention to detail is second to none,” MacLeod said.
Jenner, 32, is from Oakville, Ont. She was signed by Ottawa as one of its initial three free agents in September. Jenner played hockey at Cornell University before turning pro with the Calgary Inferno for four seasons in the CWHL.
No stranger to the international stage, Jenner has three Olympic medals with the Canadian national team, winning tournament MVP at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
“Jenner’s been a high-end player in our sport for a long time,” said MacLeod. “Her experience will bode well as we enter uncharted waters. You know that she’s going to deliver when the opportunity presents itself.”
Jincy Roese, 26, is an American defender with her own outstanding resume. She was a captain at Ohio State for two years, serving as an assistant captain for two seasons prior to that.
“She is a connector,” MacLeod said about Roese. “When Jincy comes to the rink, she makes sure she engages everyone.” She added that Roese cares about her teammates on and off the ice and lifts others up.
Emily Clark, 28, is a Saskatoon native with equally impressive Olympic experience. “She’s the energy,” MacLeod said, describing Clark as the heartbeat of the team and admired by her teammates for her hard work.
MacLeod said Clark and Roese are “incredibly kind women” and thinks the three together make a balanced leadership team.
“They’re a real reflection of everyone in our dressing room,” she said.
Jincy Roese (left) and Emily Clark (right) will be assistant captains for Ottawa in 2024. | Photos by Simon Hopkins
MacLeod said the three players were proud when they were chosen as captains for the Ottawa team. “They realize the importance of it and the trust that others have put in them,” she said. “But they’re very humble too.”
MacLeod and her leadership group are excited to move forward and hit the ice next week.
