Don VoaklanderHowie Draper, the University of Alberta Pandas hockey head coach, has become the leading U of A coach in regular season wins. He earned win number 441 against the Mount Royal University Cougars on November 30, 2024, beating the previous record and placing him in the number one spot.
Laurie Eisler, former Pandas volleyball coach, set the previous record of 440. Draper exceeded and reached the record in 46 fewer games.
“It’s nice to be recognized among all the great coaches that we’ve had at the U of A but when you get right down to it, it’s an extra game that the team as a whole happened to win,” Draper said.
He attributes this honour to not only the team, but also the volunteers and staff who have contributed to the program.
“We have a great university. I think that helps attract quality players. We’ve had the good fortune to have some outstanding athletes. I’ve been really lucky to have a number of volunteers over the years that have brought their strengths and expertise to our program,” Draper said.
“They bring a lot of energy as young people, and that helps me,” Draper says
Draper has been coaching the Pandas for 28 years. He had a break in 2023, where he coached with the Professional Women’s Hockey League in New York.
“The [U of A] players are unique and different. Every year is different — sometimes they’re different from month to month. They bring a lot of energy as young people. That helps me as an older person to keep wanting to be there, keep coming into the rink,” Draper said.
With ever changing dynamics, Draper has had to “keep the fire burning.” Outside of the Pandas, Draper has also coached different hockey teams. From those experiences, he gained more experience to bring back to the program.
“I learn a lot [and] I can bring that back to the team and re-energize the program. In turn, that kind of re-energizes me again,” Draper said.
During his time with the Pandas, he’s seen growth in not only the players, but in women’s hockey overall. He sees more knowledgeable and skilled players coming in from stronger coaching prior to joining the program.
“That’s forced me to try remain supple so that I can continue to learn and grow myself so that I can, [in return], help them continue to grow,” Draper said.
“I just want to try and help young people grow,” Draper says
As a coach, he hopes his athletes carry two messages — striving for excellence and serving those around them.
“I hope that they learn the value of buying into and being part of the collective, the idea of bringing your talents and your strengths to help the group that you’re in. Part of that is doing your best to strive for excellence and be the best you can [to] help the group move forward,” he said.
Draper is a U of A alum and was a Golden Bears hockey player, coached by Clare Drake. He said that Drake was a role model for him. He’s tried to implement Drake’s coaching model into the Pandas hockey program since the very start of the program in 1997.
“I looked up to him in a very significant way, and I just want to try and help young people grow, very much like I think he wanted to help us grow. I think having that underlying philosophy [has] helped contribute to some of the success that we’ve had over the years,” Draper said.
The Pandas hockey team returned to its regular season matchups on January 3 against the MacEwan University Griffins. Draper hopes to tally up more wins and is set to keep moving forward.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing and if more wins come, that’s great. If [there are] more losses, [we are] going to continue to pivot and figure out new ways to move forward.”
