'The Sky's The Limit' For Women In NHL Roles, Says Kendall Coyne Schofield, First Ever Woman Development Coach For Blackhawks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Blackhawks are hiring U.S. Women's Team Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield as a player development coach for the organization.
The Palos Heights native will spend most of her time working with the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate in Rockford.
Coyne Schofield is the first woman development coach in franchise history.
"I was a little girl growing up in the Chicagoland area playing the game because I loved it, and this is where it's taken me, and I think there's a lot of young girls – maybe in this area and beyond – that are looking at this today and saying, 'Wait, I can do that too,'" she said. "Whether it's a coach or a GM, I think the sky's the limit."
Coyne Schofield has been a community liaison with the Blackhawks. She'll formalize that work in the new hybrid role as Youth Hockey Growth Specialist. It's focused on, according to the team, "grassroots youth hockey programs and clinics, implementation of girls' hockey programming.
She'll also work with her namesake all-girls program "Golden Coynes."
Coyne Schofield graduated from Sandburg High School in Orland Park. She was also a forward for the United States Women's National Ice Hockey Team. Coyne Schofield is a six-time World Champion at the International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship. Twice she represented the United States. in the Olympic Winter Games, earning a Gold Medal in PyeongChang 2018 (2G, 1A) and Silver Medal in Sochi 2014 (2G, 4A).
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