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Q&A: Kendall Coyne Schofield on impact of NHL Skills participation, 2019 Women’s Worlds

By Sean LeahyMar 28, 2019, 9:50 AM EDT
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EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — It’s been a busy two months for U.S. national team forward Kendall Coyne Schofield. Since her participation in the Fastest Skater competition during the 2019 NHL Skills in San Jose she’s appeared on NBCSN, NHL Network and FOX Sports West as an analyst, spoke on a handful of panels, partnered with adidas and CCM Hockey, played in the Rivalry Series three-game set against Canada, and helped lead the NWHL’s Minnesota Whitecaps to the Isobel Cup.

Now that life has settled down a bit, Coyne Schofield and her U.S. teammates are on Long Island for training camp ahead of the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Finland from April 4-14. The Americans have won seven of the last eight gold medals at the event, all against Canada, and are gunning for their fifth title in a row.

“It’s been busy but it’s been extremely exciting,” Coyne Schofield told Pro Hockey Talk on Wednesday. “We’re seeing the game grow before our eyes and I think that’s what’s so exciting about everything that has happened from All-Star Weekend.”

Days after clocking in a Fastest Skater time of 14.226 and beating out Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes, Coyne Schofield was on-air during an NBCSN broadcast between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning. While she reached out to a few people for advice beforehand, veterans in the business like our own Kathryn Tappen and FOX’s Laura Okmin provided some support.

She’s since done the same role for a few other games and enjoyed the experience.

“It’s been awesome. I love it,” she said. “It’s so fun to talk about the game that I’m so passionate about, that I love. Just to be able to dissect a hockey game for an audience and for people who love hockey is so much fun.”

As for what’s next, well, that’s a question to be answered after the Worlds. Coyne Schofield said she’s keeping her focus at the moment on helping the U.S. capture gold once again.

We caught up with Coyne Schofield after the team’s opening practice to talk about the impact of her NHL Skills participation, the growth of women’s hockey internationally, and more.

Enjoy.

PHT: During your post-Skills press conference you talked about how your participation would break barriers and change perception about women in hockey. Since then, what’s been the reaction you’ve received in your travels and on social media from young girls and women who saw your Fastest Skater loop?

COYNE SCHOFIELD: “The reaction has been extremely uplifting. Everyone’s seen it, whether it’s directed at me or directed at our game, it’s been extremely positive and eye-opening. I think some people never knew women’s hockey existed before they saw a woman skating a lap on the NHL platform. It’s been amazing but extremely awesome to see all these young girls aspiring to dream big and do something that they never thought could be done before. I think that’s what’s so special.”

PHT: Seeing you, Brianna Decker, Renata Fast, and Rebecca Johnston there taking part opened some eyes around the NHL, and brought up the idea that maybe in the future women could participate fully in All-Star Weekend.

COYNE SCHOFIELD: “Absolutely. I think that’s what was so special about that moment is it opened a lot of doors. In my opinion, the sky’s the limit to this point. I was the first one to compete in one event, but there’s multiple events, there’s a game. The sky’s the limit after the stance the NHL decided to take that night, which I’m so grateful for and I know our sport is grateful for as well. We worked so hard to be put in the conversation to have that moment, and it was just me skating, but it was everyone who allowed that moment to happen in our sport. I hope we see a 3-on-3 team one day and see women competing in every event because there’s so many spectacular players that belong.”

PHT: The Women’s Worlds added two more teams and is up to 10 for the tournament this year. How have you seen the competition improve outside of the U.S./Canada rivalry since your first year playing internationally?

COYNE SCHOFIELD: “It’s grown tremendously. [Going from 8 to 10 teams], that shows the growth, and it’s not just U.S. and Canada anymore. A lot of people have that perception, but if they turn on a game — and our games will be on NHL Network, so they can do that — they’ll notice that the game has grown throughout the entire world.”

PHT: The U.S. has won seven of the previous eight gold medals, all against Canada. You play them in the second game. How important is it to get that game in early in the tournament?

COYNE SCHOFIELD: “It’s important. It’s a game you look forward to but you have to take it one game at a time. You can’t look past Finland in their home country at the World Championship stage. We’re focused on Finland for Game 1 and then we’ll shift our focus to Canada. It’s a long tournament, and we get an extra game — more hockey, which is super exciting. We’re really looking forward to it because it’s year one of four, and whoever’s there in year four, we’re consistently building starting year one to peak in year four.”

PHT: What are the biggest strengths of this group?

COYNE SCHOFIELD: “It’s everyone’s compete level, everyone’s will to want to win, and everyone’s so proud to represent Team USA. It’s such a good, hard-working group, whether it’s your first World Championship or their 10th, everyone’s here for the same goal and everyone’s able to own their role. It’s just an awesome group to be a part of.”

PHT: Sometimes new blood is good for a team but this is a very veteran team. That has to be big for the group in order to keep the momentum of the last few years going.

COYNE SCHOFIELD: “Oh, definitely. For a while we felt like we were chasing and now we feel like we’re the ones being chased. As veteran players, we need to make sure the younger players don’t feel like younger players because they’re not. If you made it to this level you’re not a younger player, you’re an elite level player and you belong here. Everyone can bring their own special talent and we put it all together and that’s what makes us Team USA and the best team in the world.”

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

Kendall Coyne Schofield talks All-Star Skills, bubble hockey with Penguins’ Dumoulin

By Scott BilleckJan 30, 2019, 8:07 PM EDT
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Prior to setting a blistering time around the rink at the NHL All-Star Skills this past weekend, Kendall Coyne Schofield made sure Connor McDavid was in the same boat as she was.

“I asked him if he was nervous,” Coyne Schofield told the broadcast team on NBCSN prior to Wednesday Night Hockey. “He said he was, so that made me feel a little better. I got to the starting line and the crowd just erupted.”

The chants of ‘USA, USA’ and the rest of the yelling and screaming help propel Coyne around the rink, and then it came: a 14.346-second lap, just a second off McDavid’s time and faster that Arizona’s Clayton Keller, who also participated.

“It was go time,” she said.

McDavid may have won the event, but Coyne Schofield won the hearts of the hockey community.

Coyne, who currently plays for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), became the first woman to compete in an NHL All-Star Skills and along with fellow U.S. National team member Briana Decker who participated in the Premier Passer event, stole the show.

In fact, it was so inspiring that NBC hired Coyne Schofield to be an analyst on Wednesday night during the game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“This past weekend has just been incredible,” she said. “Just to see the barriers that have been broken, the historic moment that was made and the response… just seeing all of those messages, young girls picking up skates for the first time, young boys saying I want to be as fast as her. It changed the way society views women and specifically women and girl’s hockey. It’s just been tremendous.”

Part of Coyne Schofield’s assignment on Wednesday was playing a little bubble hockey with Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin.

She won, of course.

The two have a little in common. Coyne Schofield attended Northeastern while Dumoulin attended rival Boston College. Both played in the Beanpot Tournament, which pits Boston University, Boston College, Harvard University and Northeastern in a two-round tournament for state bragging rights.

Dumoulin is a three-time winner of the tourney, while Coyne Schofield won it twice.

Coyne Schofield will go between the glass with Pierre McGuire during Wednesday’s game, along with providing analysis during both intermissions with play-by-play man, John Forslund.

Her chance to shine isn’t too far off, either.

Coyne Schofield and the rest of her USA teammates are gearing up for the 2019 Rivalry Series against Canada. The three-game series takes place in Toronto and London, Ont., with the final in taking place at Little Caesars Arena on Feb. 17 as part of Hockey Week Across America.

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

Coyne Schofield’s NHL All-Star Skills participation makes big statement

By Sean LeahyJan 26, 2019, 2:05 AM EDT
17 Comments

SAN JOSE — It was Kendall Coyne Schofield’s test loop on Thursday that got the idea rolling.

The U.S. women’s national team player was in San Jose, along teammate Brianna Decker, and Rebecca Johnston and Renata Fast of Canada, to help demonstrate the NHL All-Star Skills events. On Thursday she did a test lap of the Fastest Skater and clocked in at 14.226 seconds. With Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon pulling out of the weekend due to a sore foot, an idea was hatched.

Full of nervous energy and adrenaline, Coyne Schofield went first and as the SAP Center crowd showered her with U-S-A! chants she took over and blazed to a time of 14.346, finishing ahead of Clayton Keller (14.526) of the Arizona Coyotes.

“Obviously, I was a little nervous, but I knew it was a moment that was going to break a lot of barriers and a moment that would change the perception of our game and show support to our game,” Coyne Schofield said. “It was so exciting.”

When she finished, she received a well-earned standing ovation. The Olympic gold medalist and five-time World Champion helped opened a door that could see the NHL include women in the actual All-Star Skills events in the future.

“I think today the NHL made that statement and I was fortunate enough to be a part of a lot of people pushing for it, a lot of hard conversations that have been had,” she said “I’m thankful for the opportunity and I think it went pretty well.”

Coyne Schofield’s speed didn’t just impress the sold out crowd, she also had NHLers throwing their support behind her.

“When she took off, I was like, ‘Wow!'” said Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who won the event for the third year in a row with a time of 13.378. “I thought she might have won the way she was moving. She was a really good skater and that was an amazing thing for the game to see her participate like that in an event like this.”

“She beat me so she’s doing something right,” Keller said. “She’s really fast. I was surprised. It was great to see that. It was a great experience for the NHL to have her do that event. It was really cool.”

The NHL is always looking for ways to improve the All-Star Skills event and going forward it shouldn’t be a difficult decision to include women on the teams and have them participate. Growing the game is a big priority on the league’s to-do list and this a good place to start.

Next up for Coyne Schofield, who also plays for the NWHL’s Minnesota Whitecaps, and her U.S. teammates is a three-game series against Canada in February with games in Detroit, Toronto and London, Ont. The final matchup will take place Feb. 17 at Little Caesars Arena as part of Hockey Week Across America.

It’s been quite a year for Coyne Schofield. Eleven months ago the U.S. team was celebrating an Olympic gold medal in Pyeongchang. She got married over the summer. In November, the Americans won their fourth straight Four Nations Cup. And now Friday night she became the first woman to participate in the NHL All-Star Skills event. 

This wasn’t the first time Coyne Schofield broken down a barrier. Over the summer she became the first woman to play in the Chicago Pro Hockey League, which featured a number of NHLers like Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat and Brandon Saad of the Chicago Blackhawks. She held her own and that drive to make an impact in the lives of young hockey playing girls continues.

“I would say especially to young girls, to women, follow your dreams, believe in yourselves and there’s nothing you can’t accomplish,” she said. “I think tonight was an example of that.”

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.