Jan 25, 2019; San Jose, CA, USA; USA women's ice hockey player Kendall Coyne-Schofield in the fastest skater competition in the 2019 NHL All Star Game skills competition at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
NBCNHLBy Sean Keeley on

Kendall Coyne Schofield is a pretty big deal in the world of women’s hockey. The forward won five gold medals as part of the U.S. national title at the IIHF World Women’s Championships as well as the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She made headlines over the weekend as the first woman to ever compete in the NHL All-Stars Skills Competition. And following her performance, in which she finished seventh overall in the fastest skater event, she’s become a pretty big deal in the world of hockey, period.

NBC is well aware of this and has hired her to be an analyst for the Wednesday Night Hockey game between Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. The game will be televised on NBCSN at 8:00 p.m. EST.

“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.”

Kendall is no stranger to the world of media. She was a communications major at Northeastern and worked as a sideline reporter while there. As for what she’ll be doing during this broadcast, CoyneSchofield will appear on the pregame show and Inside the Glass with Pierre McGuire. She will also make appearances during intermissions.

“I love to be able to talk about the game and when this opportunity presented itself, I was more than ecstatic,” Coyne told USA TODAY Sports. “I will obviously be doing some research tonight, tomorrow, leading up to Wednesday’s game. Obviously, the Lightning and Penguins are premier teams with a lot of superstars, so it will be an excellent game to talk about.”

This won’t be the first time NBC has featured a women’s hockey player during an NHL broadcast. Former U.S. Olympian A.J. Mleczko previously worked as an analyst for the network. She is currently working as an Islanders studio analyst for Madison Square Garden network.

[USA Today]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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