Color of Hockey: Guest gig at Canadiens development camp 'dream' for Cook

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Olivia Cook, coach of State University of New York Potsdam’s NCAA Division III women’s hockey team and one of the few Indigenous coaches in college hockey. Cook was a guest coach at Montreal Canadiens development camp from June 30-July 2.

Olivia Cook was nearly brought to tears by Martin St. Louis -- in a good way.

The coach of the State University of New York Potsdam women’s hockey team and the Montreal Canadiens coach were discussing St. Louis’ leadership philosophy during Montreal’s development camp when a point hit home.

“One of the things that he said was he's demanding without being demeaning, and that’s been said about my coaching style before,” Cook said. “I almost started to cry hearing that.”

Cook, who is Akwesasne Mohawk and one of the few Indigenous coaches in NCAA hockey, was wide-eyed and an open book during the June 30-July 2 camp at CN Sports Complex in Brossard, Quebec, taking in as much knowledge as she could.

The 34-year-old was among nine guest coaches at the camp that included Kori Cheverie of the Professional Women’s Hockey League champion Montreal Victoire and four members of her coaching staff; Yanick Jean of Chicoutimi, which won the 2026 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League championship; Olivier Latendresse of Collège Charles-Lemoyne Riverains (M18 AAA); and retired NHL goalie Mike Condon of Condon Performance Consulting.

“I looked at the resume of the other guest coaches, and you had the all the coaching staff of the Montreal Victoire, and I was, like, ‘Wow,'” Cook said. “And I’ve been a fan of the Montreal Canadiens for years. They’re two hours from the ‘res.’ I couldn’t believe I was part of them for a few days. It was a dream.”

Cook is a coach on the rise. She guided NCAA Division III Potsdam from 6-13-4 in 2024-25 to 11-13-2 last season and their first-ever SUNY Athletic Conference tournament berth. They lost 4-1 to Cortland in the first round on Feb. 25.

“She has accomplished a lot in hockey and life coming from a small community,” said John Chabot, a retired Canadiens forward who is Anishinabeg Algonquin from Kitigan Zibi First Nation. He recommended Cook for Montreal’s development camp.

“I honestly think that sooner than later she'll get an assistant coaching job, whether it be with the PWHL or with an NHL franchise.”

Chabot said Cook brings an inquisitiveness and fearlessness to whatever she does.

“She’s not afraid to ask questions, she’s not afraid to get involved, she’s not afraid to look bad, which I think is so important in development whether you’re a player or a coach,” he said. “If you’re willing to accept that and get up and dust yourself off and move forward, you’re going to move forward. She has it in her because she wants to learn, and she wants to learn from everybody.”

Cook is proud of her Indigenous heritage and hockey background and honors both by wearing colorful jewelry by Niio Perkins, a Mohawk designer, and other artists, while coaching games.

“That’s been a process of expression that has taken time for me to have the confidence to do," she said, "because sometimes I still walk into rooms and get scared that I'm the only kid from the ‘res.’

“But it’s an opportunity to express who I am, where I come from. It’s also a way to show, like, ‘Now I’m comfortable.’ It's part of my armor now because I'm representing, and I feel empowered by it.”

Cook’s hockey journey began in Akwesasne, a trans-border Mohawk nation territory which encompasses parts of New York, Ontario and Quebec along each side of the St. Lawrence River.

“I figure skated in the community here and, I don't know why, but I just I wanted to play hockey,” she said. “Here in Akwesasne they were starting a girls hockey association. There was a good-sized group of young ladies my age -- 10 or 15 of us -- and we got into a house league organization together. There was an older age group that I would hop up and played at a young, young age. I really took to hockey.”  

Cook went on to play for a team in Cornwall, Ontario, and varsity hockey at Salmon River High School in Fort Covington, New York. After a season with the Nepean Jr. Wildcats, she joined Cornell University’s NCAA Division I women's team in 2010.

She had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 89 games from 2010-13 and was a member of Cornell’s Eastern Athletic Conference championship teams in 2010-11 and 2012-13.

Cook returned home after her junior season in 2012-13 and went to work with the St. Regis Mohawk tribe’s prevention programs that focus on alcoholism and chemical dependency, suicide prevention, mental health and helping at-risk teens.

“I worked for our substance abuse program,” Cook said. “I ended up working there as a frontline worker, and then I became a coordinator of the program.”

She kept involved in hockey by coaching girls’ varsity hockey at Salmon River High, guiding the school to the New York State Finals in 2017-18. She also worked with teams in the Cornwall Girls Minor Hockey Association.

But Cook still had a playing itch to scratch. She moved to Australia and played in a women’s semi-pro league in Adelaide in 2019-20.

“Had an amazing experience in every way,” she said. “Hockey-wise, hockey wasn't the greatest, but the community of hockey in in Australia is so cool because it's a small community and it's growing like crazy.”

She resumed working with Indigenous communities when she returned to North America. She connected with Chabot, who is founder of First Assist, a nonprofit organization that uses sports as a motivational tool to encourage Indigenous youth to achieve academic success and promotes healthy habits. 

“She was easy to put into communities that she's never been because she's an excellent role model for the young women who want to pursue an education,” said Chabot, who had 312 points (84 goals, 228 assists) in 508 NHL games with the Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings from 1983-91. “Maybe because she left her community at a young age to go to an NCAA school.”

Cook was also working with ActivNation, another organization that empowers Indigenous youth, when she decided it was time to go back to school to get a bachelor’s degree in public health.

She didn’t set out to be an NCAA coach but that changed after she enrolled at Potsdam in 2022 thanks, in part, to a building custodian she happened to strike up a conversation with on her way to her first biology class.

“He asked me what my background was and said, ‘Oh, you’re a hockey player? Well, you should be an assistant coach with us,’” Cook said. “Then I bumped into somebody else on campus and they said something similar.”

Days later, Cook introduced herself to women’s hockey coach Greg Haney and learned that his assistant coach had left to take a head coaching job elsewhere.

“By Week 2, I was offered the assistant coaching gig,” Cook said. “It was kismet.”

She became a coach who was enrolled in the same classes as some of her players.

“I'd see them at the rink then I’d see them every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in class,” she said. “They’d chirp, ‘Coach, you weren’t in class this morning.’ I’d go, Yeah, I was at a doctor’s appointment because I’m 30.’”

Cook was named head coach on September 11, 2023, after Haney accepted the women’s hockey head coaching job at Division III Elmira University in Elmira, New York.

She received her bachelor’s degree while a head coach in 2024 and proudly marched with the rest of the SUNY Potsdam’s graduating class at commencement.

“Absolutely,” she said. “I'd been waiting over 10 years to walk.”