Potsdam native and former NCAA Division I standout Kalie Hart (Grant) enters her third season at the helm of the SUNY Canton women's hockey program during the 2024-25 season.
The Roos tied the record for most wins (14) in a season as well as the mark for most conference wins in a season (8) for the second consecutive season during Hart's second season at the helm during the 2023-24 season. Both Riley Andzel and Anna Pavlasova were named to the SUNYAC All-Rookie team following Canton's first season in the SUNYAC in women's hockey.
SUNY Canton tied the record for most wins in a season (14), set a new mark for conference wins in a season (8) and had their best first semester of a season (10-1-1) during Hart's first season leading the team during the 2022-23 campaign. The team earned its first ever win against Oswego State with a 2-0 shutout (2/3/23). The team qualified for its first NEWHL Tournament before falling to champion and No. 2 nationally-ranked Plattsburgh State. Senior Sirena Alvarez was named the NEWHL Goaltender of the Year and following graduation went crosstown to earn her Master's degree at St. Lawrence while using a fifth year of eligibility playing for the NCAA Division I Saints. Freshman Danika Lalonde was named to the conference's All-Rookie Team.
Hart joined SUNY Canton after two seasons as an assistant coach at perennial power Adrian College. Prior to her two seasons with the Bulldogs, she was a four-year student-athlete and captain for the D-I St. Lawrence University Saints.
“Kalie quickly rose to the top of a highly competitive pool of candidates,” Director of Athletics Randy B. Sieminski said at the time of her apointment. “Her experiences in both D-I and D-III as well as her familiarity with the area will serve her well as our new head coach. She is a successful recruiter with numerous contacts throughout women’s hockey.”
Adrian posted a combined record of 40-7-2 during Grant’s two seasons as an assistant, including an undefeated season at 20-0-1 during the 2020-21 campaign.
While at Adrian she assisted with developing practice plans, analyzing game film, creating game strategies, instructing on-ice skills, recruiting, scheduling and travel among other duties.
During her time with the Bulldogs 26 student-athletes earned All-Academic accolades, six players earned All-Conference honors, two were recognized on the All-Freshman Team and one was named Player of the Year.
Hart (Grant) appeared in 138 games scoring 13 goals and racking up 31 assists during her time with the Saints. She served as assistant captain her junior season, captain her senior season, and embodied the definition of a student-athlete making the Dean’s List every year.
“I would like to thank President Szafran, Randy Sieminski, and the rest of the search committee for trusting me to be the next head women’s hockey coach at SUNY Canton,” Grant said at the time of her appointment. “I am thrilled to be returning to my roots in the North Country and look forward to continuing my coaching career at SUNY Canton. I am excited to meet the players as we look to continue the program’s success and contend for NEWHL championships.”
During her time at St. Lawrence, Grant was presented with the Andrea Blakely Scholar Athlete Award four times and was named an ACHA All-American Scholar during the 2018-19 season. Her other awards include being appointed the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team award four times, selected as an ECAC Hockey Commissioners' Honoree as the program's top scholar, and elected a finalist for the Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year finalist twice.
Hart's coaching experience includes being a coach at the Can/Am Hockey School in Lake Placid, NY. During that time, she focused on improving the fundamentals of 10-16-year-old athletes.
Hart (Grant) graduated from St. Lawrence with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Business in the Liberal Arts with a minor in Sports Studies and Exercise Science. During here time in college, she spent three years on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and volunteered with Special Olympics in 2019. Grant also recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Sport Management from Adrian.
Hart was a local three-sport standout at Potsdam High School where she captained the hockey, soccer and lacrosse teams.
Hart became just the third women’s hockey coach in SUNY Canton history. She took over for Dave LaBaff, who is also a Potsdam native. LaBaff coached the SUNY Canton women’s hockey team for the past eight seasons before moving on to Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.
(Updated 7/25/24)
