Kelly Bechard

Kelly Paige Bechard (born January 22, 1978) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. She played for the Calgary Oval X-Treme, Brampton Thunder, and Mississauga Aeros. She won a gold medal with Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Born in Sedley, Saskatchewan, Bechard was a provincial doubles badminton champion in High School. She played university hockey for the University of Calgary. In club hockey, she was a four-time Abby Hoffman Cup national champion, three times with Calgary and once with Brampton.

Playing career College hockey In 1998, she was named to the CIAU’s First All-Star team and was presented the Award of Merit. After the Olympics, Bechard returned to the University of Calgary, where she played for the university’s hockey team, and pursued a degree in management.

Club career Bechard played in the National Women's Hockey League and the Western Women's Hockey League. She scored a goal in the 2003 Women's National Hockey Championship to help Team Alberta win the Abby Hoffman Cup.

International play Bechard competed for Canada at the World Championships in 2000 and 2001.

In the 2002 gold medal game, Bechard was called for a tripping penalty late in the third period, and this led to Karyn Bye of the United States scoring a goal. The goal made the score 3-2 in Canada’s favour, as Bechard was part of the first Canadian Women's Hockey Gold Medal hockey team in Olympic history.

Coaching From 2010-2014 she was assistant coach for the university of Calgary Dino’s, she took over head coach for the 2013-14 season. After that she left to be the assistant coach for the Calgary Inferno for their 2017-18 season. Bechard is now back as an assistant coach for the university of Calgary Dino’s

Awards and honours Award YearAbby Hoffman Cup 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006 NWHL Championship 2002-03, 2003-04 WWHL Championship 2004-05, 2007-08 CIS All Canadian Team 1997-98 Dinos Hall of Fame 2017 Canada West Hall of Fame 2022