(Release courtesy
History is set to be made on the bench for the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings as local coach Jordan Szczecinski steps onto the ice this weekend as the first female assistant coach in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) history.
Szczecinski, who serves as an assistant coach for the U18 AAA Weyburn Gold Wings, will join the Red Wings bench for two preseason matchups on Sunday and Monday.
Her coaching path began nearly eight years ago, moving from player to coach after growing up through the Weyburn minor hockey system.
Over the years, Szczecinski has built a strong coaching foundation, leading the U15 AA Gold Wings for several seasons before joining the U18 AAA bench last year.
Her involvement with the Red Wings started during training camp last season, working through practices, intra-squad games, and assisting the bench periodically during coaching transitions. Over time, she built a strong collaborative relationship with Red Wings Head Coach Cody Mapes.
While coaching male athletes presents distinct dynamics compared to coaching female teams, Szczecinski emphasized that the core motivations of players remain identical across the board.
“When I spoke to somebody yesterday about it and said, ‘you do adapt the way you deliver feedback, the way you teach things, the way they learn things’. There are differences,” Szczecinski explained.
“At the end of the day, they are hockey players, and they just want somebody to care about the sport. They want somebody to teach them the sport. They want to just have that connection to it and have genuine care for it.”
During the upcoming preseason games, Szczecinski will share bench duties alongside either of the two Red Wings assistant coaches, Chad Wilchynski and Willy Mason.
She noted that player feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with athletes appreciating her approach and knowledge of the game. Beyond the immediate games, she recognizes the broader perspective of female representation in hockey leadership.
“Anytime I think that there can be a female coach involved in the game in any capacity, I think it’s a win regardless of what side of the game it’s on,” she said.
Szczecinski’s journey with hockey began when her family started billeting Red Wings players during her childhood, prompting her to transition from figure skating to minor hockey. After university, she helped pioneer local opportunities for female players, co-founding a Sunday recreational league that eventually expanded across the region.
For other women looking to step into leadership roles in sport, she offers encouragement grounded in her own experiences overcoming challenges in a historically male-dominated space.
“It is truly one of the most rewarding experiences I think I’ve been able to find in my life as an independent female. It’s not a world where there’s lots of us that exist in, so, you’ve battled through adversity, you’ve been challenged numerous times. But I think the thing at the end of the day is you just got to find the fact that you can truly love this sport and this sport will find ways to love you back. And to put in the work,” she reflected.
“There’s tons of opportunity if you can go chase them, there’s tons of learning and resources and courses and connection through networking that you can make that will really challenge you, but help you grow to succeed. So finding the ways that you can put your hand up, that you can challenge yourself to be in uncomfortable situations and walk through those, I think all of those moments strengthen you as a person, and the stronger the person, the stronger the coach.”
As she prepares for her landmark stint on the SJHL bench, Szczecinski said she views the milestone not as a personal endpoint, but as a stepping stone for future female leaders in hockey.
“There are women in this province that are doing some really incredible things. And we’ve seen that on the global scale, and the ability to celebrate those or recognize those moments is highly impactful to the people coming behind you to ensure that we’re still in a world where there are firsts happening,” she added. “But for me, the biggest key is to make sure that those firsts aren’t the last, and that those doors remain open for a flood of people to follow you through.”
