Bruins' new hire becomes the first female on-ice coach for the NHL

A Vermonter recently made history when she was named the new player development and scouting assistant for the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins.

Danielle Marmer grew up in Dorset, Vermont, and is no stranger to the world of hockey, as both a player and a professional who works to develop new talent. She spent three years as director of player development and hockey operations for Quinnipiac's women's ice hockey team, and played for the Bobcats as well, taking the ice for 132 career games between 2013 and 2017.

Now, she's become the first woman ever hired by the Bruins for an on-ice position.

Vermont Public's Mitch Wertlieb spoke with Marmer to find out how this opportunity came about and what her duties will entail with the Boston Bruins moving forward.

Their conversation below has been edited and condensed for clarity.

On her early relationship with the Bruins

"My introduction with the Bruins, with their scouting department, was through their Diversity and Inclusion Scouting Mentorship Program, which was a mentorship program for people in an underserved community in the hockey world to connect with a mentor who works for the Boston Bruins.

"My mentor was Ryan Nadeau, who is the associate director of amateur scouting. So, I was partnered with him, and we spent September to May, Tuesday mornings, evaluating players, going through video, creating [evaluation] reports, and just talking hockey."

On how it feels to be the first woman to have an on-ice role 

"Yeah, it's an incredible honor to be a part of the Bruins organization. And, you know, I've said this since I've gotten this job — that it's an honor, regardless of gender. But I do recognize that there's an impact, and it opens doors for young girls in hockey and women in hockey. And so I'm obviously very excited to take that role.

"Luckily, for me, there are a handful of women in leadership roles in the NHL who I get to look up to and I get to follow, so I just get to be another one of those people, and another one of those women."

On the difference a physical presence on the ice makes

"Yeah, just the representation and having those pictures, videos — for young girls to see that and to actually understand that I was out there with those guys, developing them and working with them."

On working  with former Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid on scouting and player development

"So we spent some time together at the draft and at development camp. So we've spent a little bit of time together but we will be reconnecting the beginning of September to go through roles and responsibilities a little bit more in detail for the upcoming season."

On using gut instinct and other attributes when scouting players

"It's a little bit of both. The most important thing is you're trying to identify players who would work well within your organization. So, a player the Bruins are looking for or interested in is going to be a different type of player, a different style player, than Anaheim or Florida or any other organization. So it's important to be familiar with the type of player and the style of player that you're looking for.

"It's a little bit of instinct... There are qualities in hockey players that I value, you know, at a certain level... Skating, hockey IQ, work ethic — those are a couple things that are really important for me.

"And then there are the other skills that are sort of what complement them as a hockey player. I try to let those strengths come out to me. So if they check the box on the skating, on the hockey IQ, then you know I sort of leave it up to that player to show me what they're capable of and what sort of role and what sort of style they can play."

On the greater emphasis on speed and what makes a Bruins player 

"Speed is obviously something that is so important in hockey, but it's not just, how fast can you skate? It's how fast can you make decisions? How fast can you play the game? How fast do you think?

On how growing up in Vermont informed her love of hockey

"My mom ran the Riley Rink growing up. So, I lived at the rink. I used to get up in the morning and bike down to the rink and then spend the entire day there. I loved that.

"I don't know if I grew up anywhere else if I would have had that opportunity. You know, would my mom have run the rink? Would I have been allowed to just bike through the streets of any other town on my own at a young age if I hadn't grown up in Vermont? So that that definitely had a big impact on it. For sure."

On bringing back the Bruins' preseason bonding trip to Vermont 

"I have heard that. I would absolutely be be down for something like that."

On what she's looking forward to most in this role

"I'm just really excited to start working with the players and hopefully getting them to be in a place where they're ready to play on Boston's roster and play in Boston."

This story is a production of New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by Vermont Public.