UPEI Athletics and Recreation names Sean Fisher head coach of UPEI Women’s Hockey
University of Prince Edward Island Director of Athletics and Recreation Jane Vessey announced today that Kingston, Ontario native Sean Fisher will be the new head coach for the UPEI Women’s Hockey team.
Fisher takes over the role from Bruce Donaldson, who retired at the end of the 2021–22 season after 16 years behind the bench. Donaldson guided the team to a 2012 AUS championship and was responsible for bringing the U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship to Charlottetown in 2019 and 2022.
Vessey said she is grateful for Donaldson’s contribution over the past 16 years and is excited to welcome Fisher to the Panther family.
“Sean brings a wealth of knowledge at the U SPORTS level and has been an up-and-coming coach in women’s hockey,” she said. “Sean is a rising star with a strong technical background, and we can’t wait for him to get started with the Panther program.”
Fisher’s coaching career in women’s hockey has spanned almost two decades, highlighted by six years at the University of Manitoba (UM). As assistant coach, he helped lead the UM program to its first U SPORTS Women’s Championship in 2018. In 2019, he assumed the role of interim head coach and led the Bisons back to the national championship in Charlottetown, finishing the year with a 24-11-0 record. Most recently, he spent the 2021–22 season coaching in Vienna, Austria, for the EHV Sabres of the European Women’s Hockey League (EWHL), where he led the program to an EWHL bronze medal, a European Supercup silver medal, and an Austrian national championship.
Fisher said he’s honoured to have this opportunity to add his mark and create something special at UPEI, enhancing the work of Donaldson, manager Don MacFadyen, and assistant coaches Lance Jones and Ashlyn Somers.
“The thing that resonated most with me as I went through the hiring process is the quality of people who are associated with UPEI and Panther Hockey,” he said.
“I’m excited to help further the women’s hockey program, connect with the community, and continue to build on the strong legacy of high-performance excellence and first-class student-athlete experience that Bruce, Donnie, Lance, and Ashlyn have built here.”
