Former Huskies, Blades coach Bumstead relishing first PWHL season

Fresh off a plane from the Pacific Northwest, Christine Bumstead wasn’t wasting any time visiting her former home of Saskatoon.

She reached out to a pair of mentors in the local hockey scene.

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“My first two texts were to (University of Saskatchewan Huskies head coach) Steve Kook and to (Saskatoon Blades head coach Dan DaSilva),” Bumstead said.

Those programs are still top of mind for Bumstead, who is in the middle of her first season on the bench of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Seattle Torrent.

“I owe everything to both of these franchises,” Bumstead said. “This is where coaching as a career became a reality for me and I’ve learned so much from staff, management, everywhere in both programs. Being back here, it’s great to see everybody.”

Bumstead was hired by the Torrent as an assistant coach last summer following four seasons on the bench of the Huskies women’s hockey team, which opened up the door for pre-season coaching opportunities with the NHL’s Florida Panthers through the NHL Coaches Association Female Coaches Program.

She would also go on to become the first woman to coach for the Western Hockey League’s Blades, spending two years with the organization as a performance coach.

Now, she’s on the bench alongside some of the greatest women’s hockey players in the world.

“It was surreal to just think about,” Bumstead said. “This is pro hockey and not a place I really expected to be in 2026. It’s been really special and I appreciate the way the players have taken to me and the way we work together on the bench and in practice every day.”

One of those faces she sees every day at Torrent practice is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in women’s hockey history.

That being team captain and American hockey icon Hilary Knight.

“The coolest thing was seeing her will the team to a win when she is determined,” Bumstead said. “You respect her because on top of all the accolades and the resume that she has, at the end of the day she’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever seen.”

Trying to navigate the jump to professional hockey, Bumstead and the rest of the Torrent are in the middle of figuring out life in the PWHL as an expansion franchise.

Along with the Vancouver Goldeneyes, the Torrent are built with players from the league’s original six franchises and have spent the first half of their inaugural PWHL season gaining chemistry.

“I think our group has weathered expansion really well,” Bumstead said. “When you expand, it’s truly like making 26 trades all at once. Everybody has to get used to the city, find their routines, find a house, all of those things you really only experience maybe once or twice.”

The Torrent play their home games out of Climate Pledge Arena, the same venue as the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, which has Bumstead in the middle of one of the largest arenas in the league.

While Seattle sits last in the PWHL with a 4-1-2-7 record, the fan atmosphere has lived up to the hype in the team’s inaugural season.

“Our home games are electric,” Bumstead said. “You can’t beat it, when we play at home we’re energized by our fans. It’s a very different fan base than I’ve ever experienced as a coach or as a player.”

Set to return to the Torrent bench following the PWHL’s Olympic break, Bumstead said she is grateful for the break and the chance to reconnect with the teams and coaches which helped her reach the pro level.

Now, her focus will turn to trying to help Seattle earn their first playoff berth in franchise history over the final few months of the regular season.

“It’s everything I could have dreamed of,” Bumstead said.