Nicole Kosta

Nicole Kosta (born February 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played for the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and the Markham Thunder of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). She played college ice hockey at Quinnipiac.

Early life Kosta was born to Steve and Kim Kosta, and has one older brother, Jeff. She attended St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School where she played four sports, including basketball, hockey, soccer and softball.

College career Kosta began her collegiate career at Quinnipiac during the 2011–12 season. During her freshman year, she recorded eight goals and 25 assists in 34 games. She ranked first on the team in assists and second on the team with 33 points. Her 25 assists and 0.74 assists per game were for third most in the nation among freshmen. During the 2012–13 season, in her sophomore year, she recorded 11 goals and a team-high 28 assists in 34 games. She recorded a program record 11 game point streak from February 11, 2012, to October 13, 2012. Following the season she was named to the All-ECAC Hockey Third Team and an ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward award finalist. She missed the 2013–14 season due to injury. During the 2014–15 season, in her junior year, she recorded ten goals and 16 assists in 36 games. She ranked first on the team in assists and third in points with 31. Following the season she was named to the All-ECAC Hockey Third Team for the second time in her career. On October 10, 2015, in a game against Maine, she became the third player in program history to record 100 career points. Following the season she was named to the All-ECAC Hockey Third Team for the third time in her career. She finished her career at Quinnipiac ranked second in program history in points (123) and assists (84). During the 2016–17 season, in her first professional season, she recorded six goals and 11 assists in 18 games.

On August 20, 2017, Kosta was drafted third overall by the Markham Thunder in the 2017 CWHL Draft. During the 2017–18 season she recorded two goals and six assists in 12 games. During the 2018 Clarkson Cup she recorded one goal and three assists in three games. During the championship game she assisted on Laura Stacey's game-winning overtime goal to help the Thunder win the Clarkson Cup. During the 2018–19 season, in the final season of the CWHL, she recorded one goals and five assists in 13 games.

Following the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, Kosta played four seasons in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).

On November 10, 2023, Kosta signed a one-year contract with PWHL Boston. During the 2023–24 season, she recorded one goal and two assists in ten games. Following the PWHL's inaugural trade when Boston acquired Susanna Tapani, Kosta was released from her standard player agreement contract on February 14, 2024, but remained with the team on a reserve player contract. On March 19, 2024, she signed a ten-day standard player agreement with Boston. She appeared in three of the team's first seven games before being placed on the reserve player list. On April 20, 2024, she signed a one-year standard player agreement contract with Boston. Later that day she scored her first career PWHL goal, and had her first multi-point game in a win against PWHL New York.

International play

Kosta represented Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship where she led the team in scoring with five goals and three assists in five games and won a silver medal. During a preliminary round game against Germany she recorded a hat-trick.

Personal life In addition to her professional ice hockey career, Kosta is a full-time chiropractor.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2008–09 Mississauga Jr. Chiefs Prov. WHL 8 1 2 3 8 — — — — — 2009–10 Mississauga Jr. Chiefs Prov. WHL 21 16 16 32 18 2 0 0 0 0 2010–11 Mississauga Jr. Chiefs Prov. WHL 31 25 35 60 20 2 1 0 1 2 2011–12 Quinnipiac University ECAC 34 8 25 33 16 — — — — — 2012–13 Quinnipiac University ECAC 34 11 28 39 8 — — — — — 2014–15 Quinnipiac University ECAC 36 10 16 26 26 — — — — — 2015–16 Quinnipiac University ECAC 33 10 15 25 18 — — — — — 2016–17 Connecticut Whale NWHL 18 6 11 17 6 1 0 0 0 0 2017–18 Markham Thunder CWHL 12 2 6 8 2 3 1 3 4 2 2018–19 Markham Thunder CWHL 13 1 5 6 2 — — — — — 2020–21 Team Sonnet PWHPA 4 1 1 2 6 — — — — — 2021–22 Team Sonnet PWHPA 5 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 2022–23 Team Scotiabank PWHPA 20 4 4 8 12 — — — — — 2023–24 PWHL Boston PWHL 10 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 0 0CWHL totals 25 3 11 14 4 3 1 3 4 2NWHL totals 18 6 11 17 6 1 0 0 0 0PWHL totals 10 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 0 0

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2011 Canada U18 5 5 3 8 6 Junior totals 5 5 3 8 6