Izzy Cropper was named interim head coach of the Griffins women’s hockey team for the 2026-27 season on June 24. Cropper served as assistant coach over the past two seasons.
Cropper is, of course, no stranger to hockey, working for many organizations over the years, such as Special Olympics Alberta and the University of Alberta.
“My hope is that the players that come into our program have a great experience,” Cropper said.
“We want to build a hockey program here that people are proud to be a part of and we want them to get to the end of their five years and feel like they wish they could stay forever.”
– Izzy Cropper
For Cropper, the interest in hockey has been there from a young age.
“I loved watching hockey, I loved being at the rink when my brothers were practicing or playing. I think they use the term ‘rink rat’ for people who want to be at the rink all the time, and I was definitely that growing up.”
She’s coached for teams across Canada and credits female coaches in her life for pushing her towards that goal; this is something she emphasizes through her coaching today. “I think the importance of female coaches comes back to representation matters,” Cropper said.
“Female athletes need to see female leaders so that they can see themselves in those roles. That’s one of the great things about coaching at this level is you’re working with athletes every day who are the future leaders of their generation.”
To help foster a future generation of female coaches, Cropper recently worked to create a coaching clinic in Edmonton for female youth hockey coaches, noting that such programs are scarce.
Through this clinic, she hopes to provide the opportunity for female coaches to learn. As a female coach and leader in sport, she believes it’s her duty to provide affordable, accessible coaching.
Still, Cropper’s biggest priority is to ensure that whoever comes into the program at MacEwan comes out better because of it.
“I hope that whatever impact it is that I may be having or may have when it’s all said and done whenever that is, I hope that people will look back fondly on giving their time to being in our program, whether that’s players or coaches or anyone else that’s involved,” Cropper said.
