Bio

Jennifer Wakefield assumed the full-time assistant coach role for the 2023-24 season. The role was previously held by Stefanie McKeough, who was elevated to head coach in July 2023.

This is Wakefield’s first foray into coaching at the university level. She served as an assistant coach with the Dutch National Team for the past two years and was an assistant with Almtuna IS in Sweden during the 2021-22 campaign. She has also run her own hockey training service, Fierce Edge Athletics, for a number of years. 

The 34-year-old recently wrapped up a decorated playing career, having spent the 2022-23 season with MoDo in Sweden’s first division, being nominated for the top forward of the season award. 

On the international stage, Wakefield represented Canada at two Olympic Games, winning gold in Sochi in 2014 and silver in Pyeongchang in 2018. She also appeared at six World Championships between 2011 and 2017, winning gold in 2012.

A power forward, Wakefield played over 100 games while wearing the maple leaf. She retired from international play in 2018. 

At the club level, Wakefield spent most of her career in Sweden, playing for a variety of women’s and men’s club teams. She twice won the women’s top division championship, doing so in 2014-15 with Linköping HC and in 2017-18 with Luleå HF.

Wakefield split her collegiate career between the University of New Hampshire (2007-09) and Boston University (2010-12), serving as the latter’s captain during the 2011-12 campaign. She was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award for the top women’s player in the NCAA in 2008-09, led Hockey East in scoring twice, and was Boston University’s Women’s Athlete of the Year in 2011-12.