Newark, N.J. - Harvard women's ice hockey assistant coach, Venla Hovi, recently spent time on the ice with the New Jersey Devils at their Summer Development Camp. Hovi was invited to join the camp as a part of the NHL Coaches Association program that provides coaches not a part of NHL franchises the ability to learn and experience NHL camps first-hand. Hovi was also the subject of a recent feature article on NHL.com that detailed her experience at the camp.
This story was originally published by Catharine Bogart of the New Jersey Devils PR team on NHL.com and has been repurposed for GoCrimson.com.
There were two new faces behind the bench at the Devils development camp this summer. Tara Watchorn, head coach of Boston University's women's ice hockey team, and Venla Hovi, an assistant coach for Harvard University's women's ice hockey team, are members of the NHL Coaching Association's Female Coaches Program and through this joined the Devils' summer camp as guest coaches. The experience gave both coaches the opportunity to learn more about how teams like the Devils support their younger players, and a first-hand look at plenty of on-ice programming to bring back to their respective college programs.
"I'm a pretty curious person, I love learning," Hovi said about the opportunity. "Learning obviously is the major point of the experience. I was really interested and excited to see the practices and how they're structured, some of the pre-practice routines that the coaches are running, and I've met more people than I ever imagine I would of so that's another bonus along the way."
Over four days the guest coaches saw everything from on-ice drills and coaching to off-ice nutrition counseling. The off-ice programming is a significant area of development camp and also is something that both coaches have experience with from their own coaching careers.
"There's a lot of structural things I can bring back to Harvard," Hovi explained. "And think about our team and preparing for the season and even camps. Some things we can utilize and for practice planning as well.
"We're running our Harvard Crimson camp for some of our prospects this summer," Hovi also shared. "It's coming up soon and we're also doing nutrition, mental skills, strength and conditioning so it's a lot of similarities in that regard."
Development Camp is just the start of this program for both coaches. They will stay connected with Devils staff throughout the next two years and even attend upcoming camps for New Jersey.
"I would love to coach in the NHL one day," Hovi explained. "That's a big goal and dream of mine. Being here and being able to connect with these people is one step closer to that. I want to be able to coach the best players in the world and I think just learning from every aspect of the game."
