Kendall Coyne Schofield to compete in Fastest Skater event at NHL All-Star Skills Competition

Olympic gold medalist and NWHL’s Minnesota Whitecaps players Kendall Coyne Schofield will actually be competing IN the NHL All-Star Skills Competition.

Coyne Schofield, who’s well-known for her speed, replaces injured Colorado Avalanche player Nathan MacKinnon in the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater™ event.

The Skills Competition will start at 6 p.m. Pacific in San Jose, and can be seen on NBCSN in the US and on Sportsnet, CBC, and TVA Sports in Canada.

She’s one of five Olympians at the event. US Olympian Alex Rigsby is speaking on a panel with the EVERFI Future Goals program while her PyeongChang teammate Brianna Decker will joining Canadian Olympians Renata Fast and Rebecca Johnston to demonstrate skills prior to the competitions. Decker will showcase the Enterprise NHL Premier Passer™ skill. Johnston will demonstrate the Gatorade NHL Puck Control™. Fast will show off the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™, which Coyne Schofield was initially slatted to do as well.

Coyne Schofield will be competing against a well-rounded host of NHL-ers for the title of Fastest Skater. She’ll face Cam Atkinson of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel, Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars, Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, and rookie Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks.

Tonight isn’t Coyne Schofield’s first time skating with NHL-ers. This summer, she played in the Chicago Pro Hockey League, the lone female in the league of 80 professionals and 80 amateurs.

This will be great practice for Coyne Schofield’s upcoming NWHL All-Star appearance. While this season’s skills events haven’t been released yet, Fastest Skater has featured in the past. Last year’s winner was Kristin Lewicki with a time of 13.41 seconds.