Two months after ousting Natalie Darwitz as its general manager, Minnesota’s PWHL team has hired a new GM, longtime AHL executive Melissa Caruso.

A St. Paul resident, Caruso most recently spent five years as vice president of hockey operations and governance at the American Hockey League, the top minor league for the NHL.

Melissa Caruso (Courtesy PWHL)

“Melissa stood out as the ideal candidate,” PWHL senior vice president for hockey operations Jayna Hefford said in a statement.

Caruso and Hefford are scheduled to speak to reporters on Wednesday.

“It’s an exciting time for women’s sports, and I thank leadership for trusting me with the opportunity to lead PWHL Minnesota during these crucial formative years for the league,” Caruso said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get started on the journey to defend the Walter Cup in Season Two.”

Minnesota, which plays at Xcel Energy Center, won the Walter Cup as champion of the PWHL’s season, rallying past regular-season champion Toronto by winning the last two games of the five-game finals series.

The team was built by Darwitz, the former Gophers star, U.S. Olympian and Hamline head coach who used the first pick in the first PWHL draft to take Patty Kazmaier Award-winner Taylor Heise, whom she coached as an assistant at Minnesota. Heise was the leading scorer in the PWHL postseason with five goals and eight points.

But Darwitz was fired a month later after what Hefford called a lengthy internal and external review.

“The feedback to us was pretty direct and pretty clear that there wasn’t a path forward with the current personnel in place,” Hefford said during a June 8 Zoom interview with select members of the media that did not include the Pioneer Press. “It was with the work we did throughout the year, and it was clear that a change needed to be made.”

At the time, Darwitz said she was proud of what the team had accomplished but declined to address her exit.

Caruso started at the AHL as an intern in 2009 and worked her way through a handful of positions before becoming a vice president in 2015.

“Her strong background in operations and governance, combined with her extensive hockey knowledge and leadership experience, make her a great fit for the role,” Hefford said. “Additionally, Melissa’s passion for the game, along with her ties to the local community, positions her perfectly to lead the team both on and off the ice.”

The PWHL will release its 2024-25 schedule at a later date.

Related Articles

As St. Paul students start the school year, here’s what’s changing

Lorentz, Degner Riveros, et al: Neighbors of Northern Iron want real answers

After 17-year-old wounded in shooting near Fairgrounds, two more teens arrive at hospitals with gunshot wounds

Local youth spent part of their summer immersed in journalism. Here’s their take on the state of it.

Students at St. Paul’s Hidden River Middle School relocate during $43 million renovation