The Rangers are hiring Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero as a hockey operations advisor, The Post has learned.
Ruggiero, who is one of the most decorated women’s hockey players of all time, trained with Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury during his playing days and has kept in touch ever since, per source.
The two were inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame together in 2015.
Since retiring from hockey in 2011, the four-time Olympian was part of the IOC executive board and helped bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles.
Ruggiero is also the CEO of Sports Innovation Lab, a technology-powered company that examines market research to help brands figure out the behavior of sports fans.
The 43-year-old has also served on the boards of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA), the Harvard Varsity Club, the International Ice Hockey Federation, Titletown Tech, the NFL Players’ Association One Team Collective, as well as an executive member of World Rugby.
Ruggiero, a former defenseman, enjoyed a 15-year playing career, over which she competed for the Boston Blades and Tulsa Oilers of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Western Women’s Hockey League, as well as Harvard in college.
During her time at Harvard, the California native helped the team win a national championship in 1999 before she won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in U.S. women’s collegiate hockey in 2004.
Ruggiero went on to get her MBA from the Harvard Business School.
In international play with the U.S. National Team, Ruggiero has cleaned up on almost all fronts.
She’s won one gold medal, two silvers and one bronze at the Olympic Games.
And at the World Championships, she’s racked up four golds and six silvers.
Ruggiero was one of the first two female hockey players, along with Hayley Wickenheiser, inserted into EA Sports’ “NHL 13” as a playable character.
The Rangers’ hiring of Ruggiero to the front office comes amid a revamping of the coaching staff, which has added head coach Peter Laviolette, assistants Michael Peca, Phil Housley and Dan Muse, as well as skill and performance development coach Christian Hmura.
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