{"id":703,"date":"2026-05-19T12:04:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=703"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:04:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:04:07","slug":"grading-kris-sparres-first-season-as-coach-of-the-boston-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=703","title":{"rendered":"Grading Kris Sparre\u2019s first season as coach of the Boston Fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kris Sparre had never been a head coach prior to accepting his role with the Fleet last summer, and he had never coached women. He inherited a team that had lost its captain and endured a roster shakeup because of expansion. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more The Celtics need to take a big swing this offseason, maybe even something Giannis-sized<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet when he made his first media appearance last July, Sparre set lofty goals for himself and his team. <\/span><\/p>\n

Did he live up to the expectations he set 10 months ago? Let\u2019s grade how he performed on each of his major commitments:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI want to make the Boston Fleet a championship-level program that we can all be proud of.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Did the Fleet win a championship? No. But did Sparre build a culture and manufacture results to be proud of? Certainly. <\/span><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t expressly state in his first media appearance that the goal in Year 1 was to win the Walter Cup \u2014 his exact words were \u201cwe\u2019re going to work and push into that each and every day to make sure that that\u2019s our group one day\u201d <\/i>\u2014 but winning it all was a sentiment he and the players didn\u2019t shy away from throughout the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

That goal appeared more attainable as the season progressed. In what could easily have been a rebuilding year following a roster shakeup and the arrival of a new coach, the Fleet went 16-5-4-5 in the regular season and earned a record 62 points, tied for first in the league. <\/span><\/p>\n

But as Sparre told the Globe in April, \u201cYou don\u2019t get anything for finishing first\u201d in the regular season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade:<\/b> B+<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can promise you that moving forward, the Boston Fleet are going to be a very, very difficult team to play against.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

From the outset, Sparre preached a \u201csuffocating,\u201d \u201caggressive\u201d style of hockey at both ends of the ice. The Fleet made their forecheck their signature and wore down opponents with relentless offensive-zone pressure. <\/span><\/p>\n

Statistically, the Fleet were up there with the toughest teams to beat: Boston allowed the second-fewest goals in the league (45) behind Montreal (41), while scoring the third-most (74). <\/span><\/p>\n

Opposing coaches took notice. After the Fleet\u2019s season ended with a Game 4 playoff loss in Ottawa, Charge coach Carla McLeod commended Sparre on his first season and noted that he had accomplished his goal of making the Fleet one of the hardest teams to play against.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so relentless, so we knew we were in for a good, hard-fought battle,\u201d McLeod said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the near-constant offensive-zone pressure, the Fleet had to grind through a stretch of 12 consecutive one-goal games during the regular season, and they often struggled to score when it mattered \u2014 including in their playoff series. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Schedule makers didn\u2019t do Sun any favors with an early double dose of A\u2019ja Wilson, Aces<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fleet made life hard for the Charge and goaltender Gwyneth Philips in the postseason, outshooting, Ottawa, 142-94, in the four-game series, but the Fleet couldn\u2019t convert their aggression into goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade:<\/b> A-<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to win, we\u2019re going to have to get our youth up to speed immediately.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The Fleet signed all six of their draft picks, something general manager Danielle Marmer said was a pleasant surprise. But that meant Sparre and his staff had extra work to do on this promise. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sparre came from a developmental background, having worked for the Anaheim Ducks\u2019 AHL affiliate, and prides himself on his ability to turn young athletes into franchise players. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to help them see their way through it and give them tools and skill sets to work on, but it\u2019s up to them on the daily to work on it,\u201d Sparre said at the team\u2019s breakup day. \u201cAnd credit to them, they took charge of that every day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

All six of the Fleet\u2019s first-year players \u2014 Sparre doesn\u2019t use the word \u201crookie\u201d because he feels it minimizes their importance to the team \u2014 played meaningful minutes and were consistent performers, but none outperformed their draft position more than fifth-round selection Abby Newhook.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Boston College product had seven goals and seven assists in 29 regular-season games, appeared regularly on the top power-play unit, and earned praise from the coaches for her physicality and hockey IQ. <\/span><\/p>\n

She played herself into a position to be poached in the expansion process, which Marmer said feels like \u201cserving some players up on a silver platter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade:<\/b> A<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have everybody coming in every single day excited about putting in the work.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In hearing from players on breakup day, it\u2019s clear that if nothing else, Sparre was successful in accomplishing this goal. His coaching philosophy is rooted in forming strong relationships with his players, many of whom said that this year was their favorite hockey season, at any level.<\/span><\/p>\n

They attributed their chemistry to the culture Sparre built and his insistence that everyone \u2014 from the top-line forwards to the third-string goaltender \u2014 had an equal hand in the team\u2019s success. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very special group where everybody had a really important puzzle piece,\u201d said veteran forward Jill Saulnier. \u201cThat\u2019s rare in sports. . . . It\u2019s hard to get yourself in a place where everybody feels valued.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more The fight on Beacon Hill over the legislative audit is a messy one. Here\u2019s what to know.<\/a><\/p>\n

Grade:<\/b> A<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He inherited a team that had lost its captain and endured a roster shakeup because of expansion. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nGrading Kris Sparre\u2019s first season as coach of the Boston Fleet - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=703\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grading Kris Sparre\u2019s first season as coach of the Boston Fleet - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He inherited a team that had lost its captain and endured a roster shakeup because of expansion.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=703\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T12:04:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=703#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=703\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Grading Kris Sparre\u2019s first season as coach of the Boston Fleet\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T12:04:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=703\"},\"wordCount\":912,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=703#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/4044b0b3cef2fc2d13c0cd78235659ef.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=703#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=703\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=703\",\"name\":\"Grading Kris Sparre\u2019s first season as coach of the Boston Fleet - 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