HAMILTON — The Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Hamilton team has hired Chelsea Walkland and Connor James as assistant coaches ahead of its inaugural 2026-27 season.

The team announced the first additions to head coach Kris Sparre’s staff in a release Tuesday.

Walkland was head coach of the U19 women’s hockey program at Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, N.Y., and was an assistant coach at Colgate University and Robert Morris University.

She was also an assistant coach for the United States at the 2022 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship and head coach for the 2023 Collegiate Select Series against Canada.

James was most recently a skills coach with Shield Athletics, a hockey development and therapy organization in Burlington, Ont., and coached at various levels in the Burlington Eagles AAA program.

James was selected by Los Angeles in the ninth round of the 2002 NHL draft and played 16 games with the Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins during a 16-year professional career.

He also represented Canada at the Deutschland Cup three times.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026.