Kendall Coyne traded in her figure skates for hockey skates as a young girl, and never looked back, honing her skills for much of her youth playing on all boys teams against older and bigger players. The hard work paid off.
She got the call to don the red, white and blue for the first time at age fifteen for Team USA’s U-18 team, and went on to win six world championships and two Olympic Medals, including the gold in 2018.
Coyne continued to turn heads the following year, during the NHL’s All-Star weekend, becoming the first woman to participate in the All-Star skills competition, finishing second in the fastest skater event.
She became a television analyst for NBC and the San Jose Sharks, and in November of 2020, joined the team she grew up watching in Chicago’s southwest suburbs. The Chicago Blackhawks hired Coyne as player development coach and youth hockey growth specialist, the first woman to serve in that capacity in their organization
Those duties will be set aside in 2022 though, when Coyne plans to help the U.S. Women's Olympic Team defend its title at the Winter Games in China.
Watch Coyne discuss how young athletes inspire her:
