The Seattle Torrent have hired Christine Bumstead as head coach, making her the second head coach in franchise history after the Professional Women's Hockey League club finished last in its expansion season.
Christine Bumstead Promoted By Seattle Torrent
ESPN, citing the Associated Press, reported that the Torrent announced the move Thursday. Bumstead was already inside the organization, having served as an assistant coach last season under Steve O'Rourke.
O'Rourke was fired in May after Seattle's first PWHL season ended at the bottom of the league table. That gives Bumstead a clear starting point: keep the continuity that can help a young franchise, while changing enough of the day-to-day product to move the Torrent out of last place.
Bumstead said in a team statement that she had admired what the PWHL was building before joining the league and did not take the opportunity lightly. Her promotion is less a reset from outside than a decision to give an internal coach responsibility for the next stage.
PWHL Coaching Landscape Adds Another Woman
The hire also fits a wider PWHL pattern. During the 2026-27 season, the league will have at least four female head coaches, according to the AP report carried by ESPN.
Ottawa's Carla MacLeod and Montreal's Kori Cheverie were part of the PWHL's first Walter Cup Final involving two teams coached by women. Earlier this week, PWHL Las Vegas general manager Dominique DiDia said Kim Weiss is set to become that club's first head coach.
For Seattle, the league context matters because the Torrent are not just replacing a coach. They are trying to build credibility in a competition still shaping its identity, markets and standards. A last-place finish in year one makes the coaching decision one of the franchise's first major course corrections.
Bumstead's Saskatchewan And WHL Background
Before joining Seattle, Bumstead spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's team. She also worked in player development with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades.
That Saskatoon role carried its own marker. In 2023, Bumstead became the first female coach in Blades organization history, according to the AP report.
The Winnipeg native now moves from assistant to head coach in a league where roster construction, player development and public expectations are all moving quickly. Seattle's first season left little room for comfort. Bumstead's task begins with the part the Torrent can control first: turning familiarity with the group into a sharper second-year plan.