Kendall Coyne Schofield speeds through NHL Skills Competition
Olympian and NWHL player begins NHL Skills Competition with big numbers
Minnesota Whitecaps forward and USA gold medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield made history tonight, as the first female to ever compete in the NHL All-Star Skills competition. She replaced Colorado Avalanche All-Star Nathan MacKinnon in the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater™ event.
Going first, Coyne Schofield put up a time of 14.346 seconds around the rink in one shot, only a day after putting up 14.226 seconds in practice. Of the eight skaters, she took seventh place, topping only Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes.
Olympic Gold Medalist @KendallCoyne kicked off the Fastest Skater competition in style! pic.twitter.com/4Ug3dpsuja
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) January 26, 2019
Friday afternoon, the NHL announced she would take Colorado Avalanche All-Star Nathan MacKinnon’s place after he dropped out because of an injured foot. It turns out that he advocated for Coyne Schofield to take his place.
Nathan McKinnon idea leads to Kendall Coyne Schofield being named in the Fastest Skating contest #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/ikqk0F4vwU
— Women's Sports Highlights (@WSportHilites) January 26, 2019
A total of five Olympians from both Team USA and Team Canada are at the NHL Skills Competition to represent their countries and showcase test runs of the nights events. As one of women’s hockey’s fastest skaters, Coyne Schofield was set to test run the event before MacKinnon urged for her to compete in it instead.
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