Kendall Coyne Schofield’s only regret is that she didn’t go faster.
Coyne Schofield, the first woman to participate in the NHL All-Star skills competition, clocked in at 14.346 seconds in the fastest skater event on Friday night. She finished seventh of eight participants, beating Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller.
She was hoping to do better, though.
“I definitely wanted to do well, any competitor wants to win,” Coyne Schofield told reporters after her groundbreaking performance. “But (Thursday) when we ran through it I clocked in at like 14.26, so I was a little bit slower than that.
She added: “I was a little bummed about it, but not too bummed.”
MORE: Best moments from 2019 NHL All-Star skills competition
A 26-year-old forward for the Minnesota Whitecaps and U.S. women’s national team, Coyne Schofield was a late addition to the skills competition after Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche withdrew with an injury.
Despite the late notice, Coyne Schofield was confident in her abilities to keep pace with the quickest players in the NHL.
“My first impression was like, ‘I can do this’,” she said. “My speed is definitely my strength. Obviously I was a little nervous, but I knew it was a moment that was going to break a lot of barriers and a moment that would change the perception of our game and show support to our game.”
History was made and barriers were broke. It was such an honor to be the first woman to compete in the @nhl All Star Skills Competition last night. I can’t wait to see what the future holds! #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/Sc125oBGCx
— Kendall Coyne Schofield (@KendallCoyne) January 26, 2019
As the first skater of the eight-person field, Coyne Schofield literally set the pace for all the other participants. Amid chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A” from the crowd in San Jose, she immediately showed that she belonged with the elite skaters of the sport.
“When she took off, I was like ‘Wow!,’ ” Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid, who claimed his third fastest skater crown with a time of 13.378 seconds, said. “I thought she might have won the way she was moving. She’s a really good skater and it’s an amazing thing for the game when you can see her participate like that in an event like this.”
Coyne Schofield said she was buoyed by the support from the crowd and her fellow participants, admitting that she was a “little nervous” when she stepped onto the ice.
“The crowd was electrifying,” she said. “To hear the ‘U-S-A’ chants, everyone erupted when I started. (It) definitely gave me some momentum, and adrenaline was pumping.”
Coyne Schofield hopes that her performance can open the door for more women to take part in such competitions, noting that the NHL made a “statement” by including her in the event.
“(It’s) a huge honor to be the first woman to compete in the NHL All-Star skills competition,” she said. “It was surreal.”
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