Jeff MacLeod becomes the new national coach of the women's national team. The previous assistant coach of the women's team will take up his new position at the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) will officially start on June 1, 2023. Through his previous work at DEB, the native Canadian was able to familiarize himself with the association structures and also the DEB-Get to know national players. The 52-year-old is supposed to professionalize the women's national team and also strengthen the entire area of women's ice hockey in Germany. In order to always keep an eye on the female German ice hockey talents, MacLeod will be in close contact with the U18 women's national coach Franziska Busch and the Bundeswehr national coach Jennifer Harss.
The former professional player can already look back on both national and international experience as a coach. Most recently he held the position as head coach of the DNL team ERC Ingolstadt and worked as a DEL development coach for the club
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: “With Jeff MacLeod, we have chosen a new national coach from whom we expect fresh ideas to further reposition ourselves. Jeff is a very experienced trainer. He has already worked at many levels and the DEB also supported the women as an assistant coach at the World Cup. With his calm and emphatic, but also very goal-oriented way of working, he will help us enormously in our further development in this area. We would like to thank Thomas Schädler for his work as women's national coach, but also for his many years of reliable service DEB and wish him all the best for his future.
Future women's national coach Jeff MacLeod: I am very happy that I had the opportunity to work as an assistant coach for the women's national team this year and was therefore able to be part of a great experience at the IIHF Women's World Championship. In collaboration with Thomas Schädler, the staff and the players, we were able to achieve our goals with determination. With a strong group of motivated athletes, we will continue to build on the positive development of our team and aim for the top eight in the world rankings. It is an honor to take on the role of national coach and I look forward to the team’s continued growth and success.”