Candid Conversation with Kendall Coyne Schofield

Science has proven that if you replace your morning cup of coffee with listening to Kendall Coyne Schofield talk about women's hockey, the effects are 10X as energizing. I tested this science on a Sunday afternoon, after Kendall's team took the win in the final game in the second weekend of the 2021 Secret Dream Gap Tour.
You can hear it in her voice, the two-time Olympian and first female player development coach of the Chicago Blackhawks speaks so passionately about advancing the opportunity for women in sport, you can almost tangibly feel the weight she's carrying - it's a weight she's more than strong enough to handle and something she takes great pride in.
Off the ice, the work doesn't stop. In celebration of international women's day, Kendall will be a part of the 4th annual all-female edition of NHL NOW on NHL Network - an opportunity she knows is just as integral as playing the game when it comes to shining the spotlight on women's hockey.

Carrlyn:
First of all, congrats. I was watching the game. Holy smokes.
Kendall:
Oh, thank you. Yes, it was an exciting weekend. Obviously we're all extremely competitive and want to win, I think it was just overall, such a great weekend for the sport. I think it definitely pushed the narrative and just to see so much support around the league for what we are doing, I think it was awesome.
Carrlyn:
Team Adidas was on fire. Okay - so I want to talk about the broadcast on Monday and I know you're going to be involved. Do you know exactly the extent of your roles? And you're not going to be in studio, but are you going to be there virtually?
Kendall:
Yeah. So I'm going to be there for the whole NHL Now show. I will be remote. Obviously I'm in Chicago... I couldn't be there in person and properly quarantine, so I will be remote and I will be on the entire show.

Being a female hockey player at the highest professional level and also being a broadcaster, how important is it to expose, not just women but men, to all of these great attributes that women bring to this sport on both sides of the ice on and off?
Kendall:
Yeah, I think from a broadcasting perspective, what I love so much is that I've always felt like there has been a place for me. I think we need more women in the analyst role, but I've seen women come before me and I've known that there is a place for me. There's a place for me to make a living in this industry and I think that's the progress that we need from a playing perspective. That women who are the best at what they do deserve to make a living doing it, whether that's in broadcasting or whether that's in playing. And I know I have that opportunity as a broadcaster and I'm fighting for that opportunity as a player. And so those are some of the similarities and differences.
I think in terms of the visibility, a hundred percent, we need more women in broadcasting. I was so excited last week when we saw one of your own, and I would say one of my own as well, teammates, Blake Bolden get behind the mic. And she did an awesome job as an analyst, but it's the visibility like that. The representation matters. There's young girls who are watching that broadcast saying, "I can do that too? That's for me." So that's so important, but what I love so much about broadcasting is knowing that if I'm good enough to be in that seat, I can make a living doing it. And we need that from the playing side as well.

Carrlyn:
That's so incredible to hear. And just as a side note, it only took one woman for me to see, "Wow, that's a possibility and that is what I want my career to be." So just know that the hundreds of women that are getting... Or thousands I should say, that are getting to see you do your thing right now. And Blake too, like you mentioned, it's just unbelievable and it goes such a long way.

On the ice, talking about the Dream Gap tour and how important that has been for the progression of women's professional hockey. You all are putting women's professional hockey on the map and not taking no for an answer. You're really making a stamp in a historical kind of way. How much has this Dream Gap tour meant to you and how has the PWHPA just kind of skyrocketed this platform for women?
Kendall:
Yeah, I think the visibility has been one of the most important factors. What I love so much is the games this weekend, the games last weekend, we're all visible to a North American audience. And while there were two U.S.-based teams playing in those games, these games were highlighted just as much in Canada. And I think that shows the strength of this group and it shows that there's so much support behind what we're trying to accomplish. And that accomplishment is so much greater than a win or a loss at the end of the day. It's the visibility and it's the understanding that we're fighting for a better future, a better infrastructure, better resources that the women's professional game deserves. And I think we're starting to see the NHL players get on board and they get it. Talent sees talent. And they look at us, "Well, why don't you have a league that you can make a living playing in? Why don't you play 30, 40 games a year? You have the talent to do it."
But it's building that infrastructure to be able to do it. And so to have the support of the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Rangers the last two weeks, to be able to bring us in, show us what professionalism is like, treat us like first class, put us in first class hotels, and meals and equipment managers, and everything that's guaranteed and expected on the men's side. We came in and that's what we got. And that's the expectation moving forward. Games were on TV, people were excited to watch them. And I know every time after these games or after we play and women's hockey is on TV, I have people reaching out, "This was awesome. It was so great to watch." And while that's awesome and appreciate the feedback, we want it to be consistent. We want them to be able to find us on a regular basis, not every six months, every four years. We want it to be every week, just like we see the men, and that's what we need to get to because that's how our product ultimately grows.

Carrlyn:
I love that. And to take that into the broadcasting side of things too, it's women's history month. We, as women, love celebrating other women. We're always down for a cause for celebration, right? So Monday's going to be an incredible day. But is that the same goal for you in broadcasting as well? To just make that a thing that is just visibly seen as often as it's seen the other way around?
Kendall:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean I think about it like this, there's going to be a day when we have men coaching women and women coaching men, and it's expected. It's the best of the best. Those are the people who deserve those jobs, who are doing those jobs to the best of their ability and the best candidate is hired. It's not it's a woman, it's a man, it's, you know, whatever. It's the best. It's the best coach, the best broadcaster, it's the best player who deserves that role. I think there's going to become a time where we get there. You look at the all female NBC broadcast a year ago... Actually tomorrow, a year ago tomorrow exactly. And those were all women who have been doing this job for many, many, many years. It was just, NBC sports put together a super team and the show went on. So I definitely think... I do. I think when you get to the top of whatever you're trying to accomplish, what I've noticed is, I said it already, but talent sees talent.
I'm on the ice whether it's as a player development coach, I'm on ice with the Rockford IceHogs and they see me as their coach. They ask questions, they ask for feedback. I get on the ice as a player and it's the same thing. I get in the booth as a broadcaster, our producers, everyone's talking to me as an analyst. They're not talking to me any differently because I'm a woman and that's what we continue to see. And so we are getting there, but I think the importance of a women's professional league that affords women the opportunity to make a living not only helps the players that will play, but it develops a pipeline for women to know that they have a career opportunity as a player in this game beyond college hockey.
Carrlyn:
It's such great comradery to be able to work with other women. And I know I get a lot of energy from it. I can only imagine what it's like to just know that y'all are getting together and putting on such a great show. Can you just speak about how excited you are and, and some of the things that you're looking forward to the most about tomorrow?
Kendall:
Well, two part answer I think is... The first part is when you know women's sports only receives 4% of total media coverage, being in a role in which you're a woman and you might not be playing, but you are analyzing and breaking down sports. You know you're making a difference and you know you're inspiring some along the way. We need more visibility for women sports, but to have women talking about sports and breaking down sports helps boost that 4% number, I think in my opinion.
I think this is my second time joining the all women's NHL Now broadcast, so I'm excited for it. I watched Jackie and Jamie on a regular basis at night when I'm falling asleep or whatever. I'm always watching them I feel like, but I'm excited. I'm definitely excited. It's been a while since I've been on NHL Network, just because of my schedule. So I'm excited to join the crew and be able to break down hockey and break down the league.

We have an awesome opportunity to continue to provide the proper media coverage girls and women in sports deserves, because ultimately 4% is not enough. And if we want to continue to see women in sports succeed, that number needs to go up. And this is an opportunity for us to boost that number together.