EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — LIU women's hockey added Olympic silver medalist and four-time IIHF World Champion Shelly Picard to its coaching staff for the upcoming season, head coach Kelly Nash announced on Thursday.

"Just seeing how much Long Island University is building in its few years…last year with the championship and there is just so much buzz around it," Picard said. "It seems like a special place to be and I'm excited to build off what they did last year and kinda build the LIU legacy."

Picard spent the past two seasons as an assistant with Princeton.

"We're very excited to welcome Shelly to the Shark family," said head coach Kelly Nash. "Shelly brings a great deal of experience as a former player and as a coach that we fully believe will continue to help bring success to this program. We have no doubt she will go above and beyond to contribute to the overall team's successes, as well as to each and every players individual successes as student-athletes here at LIU."

Prior to coaching, she was a standout defenseman at Harvard, where she was a three-time All-Ivy League selection. In 2015, she was a crucial part of the Crimson's run to the national championship game.

In between her sophomore and junior year, she joined Team USA for its silver-medal run in the 2014 Olympics.

From 2016-19, Picard played for the NWHL's Metropolitan Riveters alongside current LIU head coach Kelly Nash. She capped off her professional career in 2019 with a gold medal at the IIHF World Championships.

"What I most enjoyed about my time as a player was the friendships and relationships you create…it's really amazing to know LIU is just starting to build their culture, brand and identity," Picard added.

LIU is coming off a historic season, finishing with a 20-14-4 record. The Sharks won both the NEWHA regular-season and tournament titles, and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.