Kendall Coyne Schofield became the first woman to compete in the NHL (National Hockey League) skills competition. Northeastern University alumna made history in hockey by becoming the first woman to compete in the NHL’s skills competition. She was also the winner of a gold medal for Team USA at the Winter Olympics, 2018. NHL has been a man’s league for over a hundred years.
“It was electrifying, the USA chants. I’m pretty tired but awesome to be here,” said Coyne in her television interview with NBC Sports Network. Kendall plays for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the National Women’s Hockey League and is first in rank in Northeastern Hockey history. This season, she scored 5 goals in 11 games, 141 goals, and 249 points overall.
Another such woman to change the NHL platform was Kelly Cooke. In the recent NHL Prospects Showcase, she was one of the first woman to officiate the games. “Anytime you have an opportunity to be the first—to open doors for future generations—that’s a big load on your shoulders,” says Northeastern law school graduate. “Knowing that the games went well, I couldn’t be happier. Because everyone’s watching, and you don’t want to mess up and have the doubters think that they were right.”
“I never in a million years have thought that I would have the opportunity to do that.”
NBA (National Basketball Association) games have seen women referees since 1997. In 2015, the NFL (National Football League) games saw its first woman official, Sarah Thomas. “The players treated me just like they would treat any of the other refs, which to me is a sign of respect: I don’t want them to treat me any differently because I’m female,” Cooke says. “I met the GMs of the (Nashville) Predators and the (Washington) Capitals, and they were interested to hear about my past and how I got there. And they were very positive about seeing a woman on ice.”
Disha Mazumder