Goldeneyes introduce new GM Alison Izzi but she offers no clarity on Maschmeyer, Nurse

VANCOUVER, BC - It’s been a busy offseason for the Vancouver Goldeneyes, who will drop the puck on their sophomore season on Saturday, Dec. 5 against the Seattle Torrent at the Pacific Coliseum. In its second year, the team will have new faces on and off the ice.  

On the ice, the Goldeneyes have just signed no.1 overall draft pick, Caroline ‘KK’ Harvey to a three-year PWHL contract through to the end of the 2028-2029 season.   

After leading the team as general manager in the inaugural season, Cara Gardner Morey has moved behind the bench as head coach of the Goldeneyes, replacing Brian Idalski, who was fired on June 1 after just one year in the role. Alison Izzi will take on GM duties in her first role with the PWHL. 

The Rhode Island native was made aware of the GM opening when PWHL EVP of Hockey Operations, Jayna Hefford reached out to Izzi about her interest. Izzi moves to the west coast with a background as a lawyer and a hockey executive role that had her clerking for the NHL legal department. Izzi was previously with the AHL as the Vice President of Hockey Operations/Governance. While the NHL and AHL offered valuable opportunities for Izzi, making the jump to the PWHL was something she said she could not pass up. 

“I’ve been following the PWHL since its first season and have obviously had a lot of experience in hockey on the men’s side,” Izzi said. “Being able to kind of take that experience and knowledge and bring it into the women’s area and contribute to the women’s game is really special for me and a big reason why I wanted to take the role.”

Gardner Morey was the head coach of Princeton’s women’s hockey team before taking the Vancouver GM role, so it’s not surprising to find her moving back to the bench with the franchise. But the change in positions and Izzi’s somewhat late hire (she was announced as the new GM on Sept. 22) mean there are interesting dynamics in play that both women will have to navigate. 

The team went through the 2026 Draft without a named head coach - Gardner Morey was announced in the new role on July 30, nearly six weeks after the draft. In the time since Idalski was let go, the team has announced seven player signings while four players from last season signed with other teams. Three of their five most recent draft picks also remain unsigned as of publishing.

There is no doubt that Gardner Morey is the architect of the Goldeneyes roster. The big question remains how well Izzi and Gardner Morey work together in their new roles where many lines between the roles have been blurred until now. 

“I think it’s a really unique opportunity,” Izzi told reporters in Vancouver earlier this week. “Obviously having been in the position, Cara’s been great in terms of helping me transition into the role. I think she’s really strong as a coach and I really like working with her. We complement each other’s strengths really well.”

Ahead of the Goldeneyes first day of training camp on Wednesday, November 18 there are two key question marks for Izzi surrounding a pair of Canadian Olympians. 

Sarah Nurse and Emerance Maschmeyer were both invited to Hockey Canada’s training camp for the World Championships in Denmark next month, but are unable to attend - presumably due to injury. Maschemeyer played just two games in the month of March for Vancouver. She had been listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury, but not much more is known about what has kept her sidelined. 

Nurse missed several months of last season after suffering an injury in the Goldeneyes’ very first game. She played in the Olympics and returned to Vancouver for the final two months of the season. It’s unclear if the same injury is keeping her out of pre-Worlds camp. Nurse was later announced as being invited but unable to attend. Colgate University’s Alexia Aubin was named as her replacement at camp. 

While Nurse and Maschmeyer were both on the Goldeneyes training camp roster that was announced this week, it remains to be seen if they will attend. 

A Goldeneyes spokesperson referred journalists to Hockey Canada for inquiries about Nurse. Hockey Canada did not return a request for comment. 

When asked directly if Maschmeyer will be ready for Goldeneyes training camp, Izzi side-stepped the question. 

“Right now we’re in conversations with her and we’re all moving full steam ahead with nothing else to say on that at this time,” said Izzi. 

The Goldeneyes have all the pieces in place to be a playoff contending team, but to bring that goal to fruition, they will need to have Nurse and Maschmeyer at full strength.

Vancouver will start the season with seven of their first ten games at the Pacific Coliseum. 

(Photo: Vancouver Goldeneyes/X)