Women’s hockey makes giant strides over NHL all-star weekend

Women’s hockey makes giant strides over NHL all-star weekend

January 31, 2019 Off By Jordan Stoopler

There were a number of memorable moments involving the NHL’s brightest stars this past All-Star weekend in San Jose, California.

There was Henrik Lundqvist’s 12 consecutive saves streak, earning the New York Rangers’ goaltender $25,000.

Who can forget the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews removing his own jersey at the Skills Competition to reveal that of current teammate and former longtime San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau before competing in the Accuracy Shooting competition.

Of course, there was the heroics of Pittsburgh Penguins’ superstar Sidney Crosby, who, after calling in sick to Friday night’s Skills Competition, dominated the All-Star game itself. He collected four goals and four assists across both intra-divisional 3-on-3 contests and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game in the process.

However, perhaps surpassing all of those moments was the prowess of Americans Kendall Coyne Schofield and Brianna Decker at Friday’s All-Star Skills Competition on SAP Center ice.

Coyne Schofield and Decker, along with Team Canada rivals Renata Fast and Rebecca Johnston, were invited by the National Hockey League to take part in All-Star weekend. They were set to test out the events to be contested during the skills competition before the NHLers were to face off in pursuit of $25,000.

It marked the second consecutive year that female hockey players were represented at the NHL’s mid-season showcase. Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel, all members of the United States national women’s team, were invited to last year’s all-star weekend festivities in Tampa Bay, Florida. They, too, offered on-ice demonstrations of the skills events and made various appearances throughout the weekend. This proved convenient as all three were centralized at USA Hockey headquarters in nearby Wesley Chapel, Florida ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Coyne Schofield quickly turned from simple demonstrator to an actual participant in the Fastest Skater contest after Colorado Avalanche forward and Central Division captain Nathan Mackinnon was forced to pull out of the weekend’s on-ice activities due to a bruised foot. Mackinnon, originally scheduled to compete in the Fastest Skater contest, suggested Coyne Schofield take his place.

The move was applauded by the NHL Player’s Association and the league. Coyne Schofield would be the first woman to ever compete in an NHL All-Star skills event.

Decked out in her Team USA jersey, Coyne Schofield led off the opening event under raucous chants of “USA! USA! USA!” by the Northern California crowd.

Coyne Schofield’s time of 14.346 seconds set the bar high for the remaining seven competitors, but was surpassed by Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, among others, who won the event for the third consecutive year with a time of 13.378 seconds. Nevertheless, Coyne Schofield’s time did best that of Arizona Coyotes’ forward Clayton Keller who completed the lap around the ice in 14.526 seconds.

“You cherish these moments,” said Coyne. “That’s that I tell kids all the time. When I was putting on my hockey skates when I was 3 years old, I didn’t think I’d play in two Olympic games, get the education that I received or sitting in front of you here today after being the first women to compete in an All-Star skills competition. It’s amazing what this game has brought me.”

Later, it was Decker’s turn to showcase her talents, although this time with much less fanfare. Decker ran the NHL Premier Passer Event ahead of the NHL players in a demonstration not televised on the NBCSN U.S. broadcast or CBC Canadian feed.

Decker’s time of 1.06 seconds bested even that of eventual winner Leon Draisaitl, also of the Oilers, by 3.088 seconds. Draisaitl was awarded the winner’s prize of $25,000 for his accomplishments, however fans were quick to voice their displeasure on social media using the hashtag #paydecker, claiming that Decker was the true winner and deserving of the cash prize. It was also a call for equality with female hockey players earning a small fraction of that of their male counterparts (Canadian Women’s Hockey League Players, where Decker skates with the Calgary Inferno, earn no more than $10,000 a year).

In the end, Decker’s equipment sponsor, CCM, stepped up to the plate and agreed to give Decker a $25,000 paycheque that she “deserved.”

The NHL did ultimately donate $25,000 each in the names of Coyne Schofield, Decker, Fast, and Johnston to the charities or hockey programs of their choosing in recognition of their contributions to All-Star Weekend.

The effects of these events stand to continue well past All-Star weekend. There is already talk about including even more women in league events such as the All-Star Game.

“Obviously there’s a balance there because people are paying to see the best players in the NHL and you don’t want to dilute that in any way but to the extent we can add women participation, not dilute the NHL and grow women’s hockey, it’s a good thing for all of us,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly in an interview with the Athletic’s Scott Burnside.

An added buzz has also been created for an upcoming three-game series between Team Canada and Team USA set for next month. Both squads will face off in London, Ontario as well as at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in what is being billed as the “Rivalry Series.”

In the immediate aftermath, Coyne Schofield will be part of NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Hockey broadcast in a game pitting the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Tampa Bay Lightning. She will put her communications major obtained at Northeastern to good use, acting as an analyst during the pre-game and intermissions.

“We saw the enormous reaction the players and fans had when she blazed that amazing speed, and want to celebrate her accomplishment,” said Sam Flood, executive producer and president, production, at NBC Sports & NBCSN. “We think viewers will be very interested to hear her lean in and talk about hockey during a regular-season game.”

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CategoryNHL
Tagsall-star coyne decker fastest skater hockey nhl skills women