Danielle Marmer’s hockey journey leads her to new role in Bruins’ player-development department

It didn’t take Danielle Marmer very long to find her place out on the ice.

But hockey wasn’t exactly first on the docket for the Vermont native when she first had her skates laced at just two years old.  

“Nobody in my family was playing when I started,” Marmer said. “My older sister was a figure skater. I started figure skating. … I guess I wasn't that graceful, because they pushed me over to hockey really quickly.” 

Things always seem to have a way of working themselves out. 

It didn’t very long for Marmer to find her calling — with hockey paving the way for a collegiate career at Quinnipiac University, and now, a position within the Bruins’ scouting and player development department. 

The Bruins announced on Thursday that Marmer has been hired as a player development and scouting assistant — standing as the first woman to work for the Bruins in a hockey-ops role (excluding team services/travel coordination roles).

Marmer, who spent the previous nine months in the Bruins’ Diversity and Inclusion Scouting Mentorship program, will now play an active role in the organization’s efforts of identifying the next wave of talent — tasked with working with player development coordinator Adam McQuaid when it comes to evaluating and supporting B’s prospects.  

Prior to her time in Boston, Marmer spent three years as Director of Player Development and Hockey Operations for Quinnipiac's women's ice hockey team, working in the same realm when it comes to reviewing game film, working with younger players and running operations on and off the ice. 

“I envisioned it as being an opportunity to work on my ability to evaluate players, but I had no intention of trying to get in with the Bruins,” Marmer said of her time with Boston’s Mentorship program.

Marmer has already hit the ground (or ice, rather) running during Boston’s development camp, helping coordinate drills on the ice and working with some of the B’s most promising prospects at the club’s practice facility.

"I'd like to let players sort of come to me,” Marmer said of her strategy when it comes to scouting young talent. “So whatever their strengths are, I try to let that come through first. For me, I appreciate skating, good skaters. So that's probably the first thing that I'm looking for. But after that, it's, aside from compete and work ethic, it's sort of the strengths that those players have and if those stand out."

Marmer’s hiring stands as the latest positive step as more professional sports teams continue to diversify within their coaching and operations staff. 

In total, there are now five female assistant GMs in the NHL, with Northeastern’s Kate Madigan standing as the latest appointment with New Jersey. Danvers’ Meghan Duggan is also serving as the Devils’ director of player development, while BU alum Karilyn Pilch was named as the Blackhawks' director of player personnel. 

"It's an honor to work for the Bruins, regardless of gender," Marmer said. "I recognize the impact that it has, or hopefully has, on young girls and women in hockey. Luckily, I'm not a trailblazer. There are a lot of women right now in leadership roles in NHL and in other development roles. So I like to think of myself as a reinforcer. Just that it’s going to continue, and I definitely won't be the last.”

"I think it's just — if you're loving it, keep doing it,” she said of her advice to young girls and women who love the game of hockey. “And there are going to be more and more avenues. When I was a kid, there weren't women up here doing press conferences for NHL teams or working for NHL teams. But that didn't limit me. So I think that people who just love being around the game and want to continue working the game will find their way to the NHL if that's what they desire.”