Cambridge, Massachusetts – Laura Bellamy, head coach of the Harvard Women's Ice Hockey Team, completed her coaching staff today with the hiring of Venla Hovi, who will join the team as an assistant coach. A two-time Olympic medalist with Finland, Hovi brings extensive coaching and playing experience at both the professional and collegiate levels to her new role with the Harvard Women's Ice Hockey Team.
Bellamy is excited to have Hovi on staff and looks forward to seeing how she will impact the program in the future.
“We are excited to welcome Venla to our staff. She brings experience at the highest level, having competed in three Olympics and recently coached professionally,” Bellamy said. “Venla's ability to communicate clearly with our players and develop them as individuals will serve us well. The Harvard community is made up of people from all over the world, and we are proud that our coaching staff reflects that. Her familiarity with high-performance environments will be instrumental as we work to regain national prominence in women's ice hockey.”
Most recently, Hovi served as head coach of the Metropolitan Riveters of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) for the 2022-23 season. In her first season at the helm, she led the team to 11 wins, the most in the group since the 2017-18 season.
A renowned trailblazer in professional hockey, Hovi made her name as the first woman to join a coaching team when she was hired by the NHL's Winnipeg Jets as a development coach prior to the 2019 season. In her first full-time coaching role, she worked with players at all levels, from the youth level to the Jets and the American Hockey League affiliate Manitoba Moose, honing their skill development and technique.
In addition to her role with the Jets, Hovi accepted an assistant coaching role at the University of Manitoba in 2018-19. She led the Manitoba Bisons to a third place finish in the USports Women's Hockey Championship in 2018-19 and a combined 34 wins in her two seasons on staff in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Hovi's first head coaching role began in 2020 when she was named leader of the Okanagan Hockey Academy U17 program, a role she held for two seasons before moving to PHF.
One of the most decorated players in the history of Finnish women's ice hockey, Hovi represented Finland at three Olympic Games, helping the country win two bronze medals each at the Vancouver 2010 and PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Hovi represented Finland in over 200 international competitions before retiring in 2019.
Her illustrious 15-year playing career spanned from 2004-2019, playing for several professional clubs in Finland before joining the University of Manitoba from 2015-2018. During her 2017-2018 season with the Bisons, Hovi led the team to the USports Championship and won the Golden Pass Trophy for the first time in program history. The forward was named the 2017-2018 Bison Sports Female Player of the Year for her performance in the championship.
Her success didn't stop there, as she took her talents to the Canadian professional league in 2018-19. After just one season with the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL, Hovi helped the team win the Clarkson Cup for the second time in franchise history. Hovi also became the first player from Finland to win the trophy.
Hovi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Applied Linguistics from the University of Vaasa and a Graduate Degree in English as a Second Language (ESL) from the University of Manitoba.
