Overview
- The Seattle Torrent announced on Thursday that assistant Christine Bumstead has been promoted to head coach, becoming the franchise’s second bench boss.
- Bumstead succeeds Steve O’Rourke, who parted ways with the team in May after the Torrent finished last in the league in their first season.
- Seattle finished the 2025–26 season with PWHL-highs for regulation losses (16) and total losses (21), a performance that the organization says it must fix as it rebuilds.
- Before joining Seattle, Bumstead spent four seasons as an assistant with the University of Saskatchewan and worked in player development for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, where she was the first female coach in that organization.
- The hire comes as the PWHL prepares for 2026–27 with at least four female head coaches leaguewide and with Las Vegas set to name Kim Weiss its first head coach, a trend that will increase opportunities and visibility for women in pro hockey coaching.