2026 Martin William Souders Memorial Award: Meghan Duggan
11/13/2026
It’s an hour-long morning commute from downtown Toronto to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and Meghan Duggan knows exactly where she’s heading.
The Gardiner Expressway, Queen Elizabeth Way, and Highway 40-West populate her GPS screen with commands and turns but the same inner-drive that took Meghan from Danvers, Massachusetts, to becoming a three-time National Champion at Wisconsin, and a three-time Olympic medalist and champion during a 14-year career with the United States Women’s National Ice Hockey Team, continues today as the inaugural General Manager of Hamilton in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
A new team. A new hockey season. A new goal to win a championship.
When asked about her natural ability to balance life as a hardworking sports executive and a loving mother of three children, Meghan quickly pointed to the direction and guidance she received on and off of the ice in Ashburnham. The life long experiences and memories still drive her forward.
“Going to Cushing changed my life. It’s as simple as that,” said Meghan, a 2006 graduate of Cushing Academy and the 2026 Martin William Souders Memorial Award recipient.
“I look back at my time at Cushing and the goals I set for myself to play Division I Women’s Hockey and compete for the US Women’s Hockey team, and this opportunity with PWHL Hamilton was the next step for me.”
Awarded to a graduate of a NEPSAC-affiliated New England independent school who has achieved a distinguished record in sports and has gone on to achieve a distinguished record in life through high ideals, leadership, and notable accomplishments, Meghan joins a prestigious list of Martin William Souders Memorial Award winners that includes President George Bush (Phillips Academy Andover), NFL and college head football coach, Bill Belichick (Phillips Academy Andover), long-time baseball writer and journalist, Peter Gammons (Groton School), and Olympic soccer player, Alyssa Naeher (Christian Heritage School) among others.
So what has been the roadmap to success in becoming a pioneer in women’s sports?
Carefully looking back on her lengthy journey, Meghan steers her answer ahead with ease.
“Women’s hockey has come such a long way from when I was a teenager. A lot of people have paved the way for that to happen. It’s incredible to see how these women are celebrated, so to play a small part in that is wonderful. To think of the world of sports and women’s hockey that my son and two daughters get to live and see is truly amazing. I am excited to share it with them,” Meghan continued.
“I was taught to leave it better than you found it. My parents raised me to think of other people, so that helps when it comes to solving problems or when it comes to fairness and equity. That’s always been in my DNA to push the envelope for myself, my team, and for other people.”
While it has been 20 years since Meghan donned the purple and white for Cushing Academy and nearly 10 years since the former team captain spearheaded equity and equal-wage efforts for USA Women’s Hockey, she is forever a proud Penguin. Along with returning to campus to give a commencement speech in 2014 and the keynote address at the Girls in Sport Leadership Summit in 2019, Meghan knows that building a strong foundation in leadership actually started by leading herself first.
“I can remember being 15 years old and rushing into soccer preseason during my first week on campus at Cushing,” said the former four-sport athlete in ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and softball and three-time winner of the Bette Davis Award for top female athlete.
“I was navigating preseason, being away from home, and attending a new school. I look back on making that decision with my parents at such a young age. It’s about the education I received and the mentors and teachers I learned from. It was about the challenges and overcoming them. It was the friends I made playing hockey. It all changed my life. The school is so embedded into who I am. Just like it is now, it’s the people. It’s the friends that become your support system. I am very fortunate to have my four best girlfriends in my life who are from Cushing Academy. We’ve all attended weddings, and had babies, and traveled on girls weekends together. That was my support system then and they still are now.”
Meghan’s circle has grown in scope and scale in Canada since she was named the General Manager of PWHL Hamilton in May 2026. After five years with the National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils as their Director of Player Development and a Special Consultant to Hockey Operations with the Professional Women’s Hockey League and member of the league’s Player Safety Committee, she was ready for the responsibility to lead an upstart franchise into the future.
“The exciting part about working with an expansion team is being able to build something from the ground up. While it is thrilling, it can also be stressful knowing that there is a lot to do. You have to embrace both parts by being resilient and by having a problem solving mentality.”
For Cushing Academy Athletic Director, Brian Krauss, Meghan being awarded the 2026 Martin William Souders Memorial Award sends a strong message to current Cushing student-athletes about how one of the most decorated leaders in US Hockey history still finds ways to remain highly driven.
“Our student-athletes often see themselves in an alum like her. Meghan has stayed connected to Cushing and constantly displayed how one should carry themself in sport and career. Having Meghan accept this honor gives credit to the message of doing things the right way, regardless of the setting,” Krauss explained.
“From her time as a Cushing Penguin to her current role with the PWHL, and everything in between, she has accomplished so much. It is only appropriate that Meghan is recognized for her work.”
Her dedication and direction haven’t changed. It is just the final destination that looks different nowadays between navigating the realities of life and the long unpredictable road of a 30-game season in the 12-team Professional Women’s Hockey League. Forever a steady presence at the helm, Hamilton is in good hands with Meghan behind the wheel.
“As an expansion team, we have to create an environment and culture from the beginning,” Meghan stated.
“When it came to building a team, we had to think about the person and the people we were bringing into the organization to work with and collaborate with. That’s what allows us to create something special off and on the ice. The expectation is to win.”
Prior to the puck dropping on the 2026-2027 PWHL season, Meghan took a well deserved offseason break from the front office busyness of being the General Manager of Hamilton. No staff meetings. No player evaluations or scouting reports. No media availability and interviews. No hour-long commute from downtown Toronto to the office in Hamilton. She simply relaxed by hosting a house full of friends and loved ones for her middle daughter’s fifth birthday. It was the perfect way to celebrate this season of life together as a family. Along with her wife Gillian, son George, and daughters Olivia and Sophie, this is Meghan’s most valuable team. And she’s clearly already winning.
“First and foremost, I am a Mom of three. My kids and my wife are the most important thing to me”, Duggan said joyfully.
“My ability to do hard things is because of that support from family and friends. I am excited about this time in my life.”
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Please view the photo gallery here.
Please view the 2026 program here.
Please view the 2026 NEPSAC Annual Meeting website here.