LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — PWHL Las Vegas has hired Kim Weiss as the team’s first head coach, naming the longtime player-development coach to lead the franchise into its inaugural 2026-27 Professional Women’s Hockey League season.
Weiss joins the Las Vegas club after two seasons with the Colorado Eagles, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. She started with the Eagles as a video assistant before being promoted to assistant coach in 2026, becoming the second woman in AHL/NHL history to serve as a full-time assistant coach, the team said.
“I am thrilled to welcome Kim Weiss as the first head coach of PWHL Las Vegas,” general manager Dominique DiDia said in a statement, citing Weiss’ track record developing players and building team culture.
During Weiss’ time in Colorado, the Eagles won the Pacific Division title in 2025 and made back-to-back Calder Cup playoff appearances. Colorado reached the Western Conference finals in 2026 and lost in seven games to the Chicago Wolves.
“It’s an honor to become a head coach at the highest level of the women’s game and I couldn’t be more excited to join PWHL Las Vegas,” Weiss said. She also pointed to Las Vegas’ growing hockey fan base and said the organization is focused on building a “first-class environment” for players, staff and fans.
Before her stint in the AHL, Weiss spent the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach with the Trinity College men’s hockey program, becoming the first woman to hold that role in NCAA Division III men’s hockey, according to the release. Trinity went 25-4-1, won the New England Small College Athletic Conference title and reached the national championship game.
Weiss also coached in the North American Hockey League with the Maryland Black Bears, helping lead the program to its first NAHL East Division championship in 2023. Earlier in her career, she coached the Washington Pride girls AAA program and contributed to USA Hockey player development and coaching education initiatives, including work with the U.S. women’s national team, the team said.
A Potomac, Maryland, native, Weiss played at Trinity College, where she earned NESCAC all-conference honors in all four seasons and set program records for career points and goals. She also participated in the NHL Coaches Association Female Coaches Program.
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