From AHL assistant coach to Las Vegas PWHL boss: Kim Weiss set to lead new team

Even though she spent the past two seasons an assistant coach in the American Hockey League, Kim Weiss was more than familiar with the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

She has been involved with Team USA the past four years, which eased her transition into becoming head coach of Las Vegas' expansion team.

"So, I had a pretty good file on kind of what's been going on in the PWHL prior to joining it, and I think that was a big reason why I made the jump from the American League to the PWHL in May when we added this team," Weiss said at a news conference Wednesday. "I think in terms of what I'm learning, a lot of it's coming from our players like Erin [Ambrose] and Hayley Scamurra and Nicole Hensley."

Las Vegas is one of four new teams that will begin play this fall in a league that operates under a single ownership entity. The franchise is waiting to learn its nickname.

Games will be played at T-Mobile Arena and Lee's Family Forum. T-Mobile is home to the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, and Lee's is the site of its AHL affiliate in Henderson, Nev.

Hiring Weiss was one of the first moves general manager Dominique DiDia made after joining the club. The two played together at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. They were a year apart, and even then, DiDia could see Weiss's leadership skills in being named captain as a sophomore.

"Knowing someone like her since I was a teenager and watching her grow throughout her coaching journey, we've been touch, of course, but we haven't been in the same city since we were in college," DiDia said. "It's been surreal since she got here last week, but also since we started building this team together and the way this worked.

What we've learned about Vegas and PWHL's newest expansion