The Professional Women's Hockey League announced its inaugural general managers Friday.

Natalie Darwitz (Minnesota), Pascal Daoust (New York), Gina Kingsbury (Toronto), Michael Hirschfeld (Ottawa), Danielle Marmer (Boston), and Daniele Sauvageau (Montreal) were named the first six GMs in league history.

Darwitz, 39, starred at the University of Minnesota from 2002-05. Her 114 points in 2004-05 with the Golden Gophers remain the team's single-season record. The Eagan, Minnesota, native was a member of the U.S. national team from 1998 to 2010 and was the American captain from 2007-10. Darwitz has been an assistant coach with the Golden Gophers' women's team for the past two seasons.

Daoust was GM of the QMJHL's Val-d'Or Foreurs from 2016-2023. He was previously an assistant coach with the University of Montreal's women's hockey team, where he helped win two national titles.

Kingsbury, 41, played for the Canadian national team from 2000-2010 and appeared in both the CWHL and WWHL. She was an assistant coach with the CWHL's Calgary Inferno for three seasons before joining Hockey Canada's hockey operations department in 2018, where she has managed the women's team. Born in Saskatchewan and raised in Quebec, Kingsbury was promoted to Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations in March. Her stacked resume includes two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship titles as a player. She has an Olympic gold, two Women's World Championships, and a World Championship as an executive.

Hirschfeld has been the executive director of the NHL Coaches' Association since 2016. A former Bay Street corporate lawyer, Hirschfeld was in the running for the Philadelphia Flyers' president role that went to Keith Jones, according to reports in May.

Marmer was a scouting assistant for the Boston Bruins last season and also worked in the team's player development department. Prior to joining the Bruins, she was the director of hockey operations for Quinnipiac University's women's hockey team.

Sauvageau, 61, has been a coach and executive in women's hockey since 1996. After becoming the first female coach in the QMJHL in 1999-2000, Sauvageau led the Canadian national team to gold as a head coach at the 2001 World Championships and 2002 Olympics. The Montreal native was the GM of the University of Montreal's women's hockey team from 2010-18, where she captured national titles in 2013 and 2016. Sauvageau was an associate head coach and GM in the PWHPA last season.

The PWHL's 24-game regular season will begin in January.

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