Sirens hire Jim Midgley as new assistant coach
A name familiar to those in the PWHL is heading to the East Coast.
On Monday, the New York Sirens announced that the team has hired Jim Midgley as its new assistant coach.
Midgley comes to New Jersey after spending the past two seasons working under Troy Ryan as assistant coach of the Toronto Sceptres. There, he helped guide the Sceptres to finish with the second-best record in the PWHL in 2024-25, before missing the Walter Cup Playoffs entirely this past year.
The Townsend, Ont. native joins Greg Fargo’s staff, which includes returning assistant coach Valerie Bois and goaltending/video coach Gordon Woodhall. Midgley takes the open spot left by Josh Sciba, who left the organization to become the first head coach of the expansion team in Detroit.
In a statement, Midgley admitted that he is elated at the opportunity to work for the Sirens.
“I’m incredibly excited and honored to join the New York Sirens organization,” Midgley said. “From my conversations with leadership, it’s clear there’s a shared vision and commitment to building a winning culture, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of that journey. I look forward to working alongside an outstanding staff and a talented group of athletes who are committed to competing at the highest level.”
While most of Midgley’s resume comes in the men’s game, he had a notable stint with the Canadian Women’s National Team. As an assistant alongside Ryan in 2021, he was part of the staff that led Canada to the gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, the program’s first title in nine years.
Prior to joining the Sceptres, Midgley was head coach of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He guided the team to a 42-18-7-1 record in 2023-24, finishing atop the Maritimes Division. However, the team was shockingly eliminated in the first round of the postseason by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. It was Midgley’s second season at the helm in Halifax, after he was promoted to head coach in 2017 following six years as an assistant coach. That year, the Mooseheads finished second in the division, but only made it as far as the second round.
Midgley also has NHL experience to his name. He spent two years working under Gerard Gallant as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers (2021-23), and was an amateur scout for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2021 season.
