Charge coach Carla MacLeod steps away from team to continue cancer treatment
The Ottawa Charge will be without head coach Carla MacLeod for an undetermined amount of time, as she continues treatment for breast cancer, the team announced on Monday.
“The Ottawa Charge announced today that Head Coach Carla MacLeod will be stepping away from the team for an undetermined period as she continues her treatment,” the hockey club posted to social media.
“Last November, MacLeod shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted everyone to know that she was going to be ok. She remains in good spirits and is focused on her health and recovery. The entire organization fully supports Carla and her family and asks that her privacy is respected.”
Previously, the organization announced its bench boss’s diagnosis in November, with MacLeod saying that her goal was “without question” to be behind the bench “as often as possible” through the third season of the PWHL, having coached the Charge from the beginning.
An update on Head Coach Carla MacLeod.
She also coached the Czech national women’s team at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics, returning to the Games as a head coach after winning two Olympic gold medals as a Canadian defender in her playing career.
With MacLeod stepping back from the team, two-time Olympic gold medalist with Canada and Charge assistant coach Haley Irwin will step into the top role, having already done so on Dec. 2, when MacLeod began her treatments.
Irwin will lead the Charge through the final five regular-season games, hoping to close the gap on the final playoff spots, currently one point behind the Toronto Sceptres for the final postseason berth.
The Sceptres, Charge, and New York Sirens are all battling for the final berth behind the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and Montréal Victoire, who have already clinched the top three seeds in the hunt for the league’s third championship.