Devils Announce NHLCA Program Members for Development Camp | DEV CAMP

The New Jersey Devils today announced a partnership with the National Hockey League Coaches' Association (NHLCA) that welcomes representatives from the NHLCA Female Coaches Development Program and NHLCA BIPOC Coaches Program. The coaches will join the organization for the club's upcoming Development Camp starting today going through July 15. Lindsay Berman will join the Devils on behalf of the Female Coaches Development Program, and Leon Hayward will join New Jersey on behalf of the BIPOC Coaches Program. Both initiatives respectively aim to aid women, black, indigenous and coaches of color in several areas including skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking, and career advancement opportunities. In addition to joining the organization for Development Camp, the coaches will connect with the Devils Coaching staff throughout the season for in-person and remote meetings to gain experience and exposure with an NHL staff. The announcement was made by Devils' Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald and Assistant General Manager Kate Madigan, who has spearheaded the project.
"We are incredibly excited for Lindsay and Leon to join our coaching staff for key parts of the 2022-23 season, starting with this summer's Development Camp," said Madigan. "Their eagerness, willingness to learn, growth mindset, and glowing references from those around the game were what led us to select them to join our group. This opportunity will provide them valuable exposure to coaching at the NHL level and gain experience learning from the time spent with our management, player development, and athlete care staffs. We hope this serves as a platform for them to gain insight and bring best practices back to their current teams but knowing that having them aboard will also be a learning experience for our staff in New Jersey to share the knowledge these coaches have. We are excited!"

"Lindsay and Leon have been members of our programs since their inception in early 2020, and their commitment to the sport, developing their players, and supporting their fellow colleagues has been repeatedly demonstrated throughout that period," said Lindsay Artkin, President of the NHL Coaches' Association. "Ultimately, we are determined to increase diversity in hockey, with one of the main objectives of our two programs being to support women and BIPOC coaches that aspire to coach in the NHL. We're grateful the Devils recognize the critical role they play in this mission and are incredibly proud of Lindsay and Leon for earning this mentorship opportunity with the team's coaching staff during the 2022-23 season."
Berman will be entering her fifth season as Assistant Coach for the Northeastern University women's hockey team, having started with the Huskies in 2018-19. She was recently named as an assistant coach for Team USA for the 2023 under-18 women's junior team. Prior to Northeastern, she served as head coach for the Division III UMass-Boston women's team for three seasons (2015-16 to 2017-18). In her first season as head coach, Berman led the Beacons to the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) tournament title and the program's first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Berman then guided the team to a program-record 19 wins in 2016-17 and was named the NEHC Coach of the Year in 2017-18 after guiding the Beacons back to the conference title game. In 2014-15, she was an assistant coach for the Division I women's team at Brown University. For three years prior, Berman was Assistant Coach at UMass-Boston.
In her professional career, the defender played professionally on the blueline with Connecticut (NWHL, 2015-16) and Boston (NWHL, 2010-11 to 2013-14), serving as the Blades Captain her final season. She skated all four seasons as an undergraduate at Northeastern registering 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points with 134 penalty minutes in 135 career games and academically, graduated from Northeastern with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2011.
"I am honored to join the New Jersey Devils organization for such an invaluable learning opportunity," said Berman. "It's a dream to have an opportunity like this and I can't thank the Devils enough for their support and empowerment. I'm grateful to Lindsay Artkin and the NHLCA women's coaching program for helping to make this possible and I can't wait to get to Newark for Development Camp and I'm looking forward to having a front row seat to some of the best staff and players in our game."
Hayward, participating in the NHLCA's BIPOC Coaching program, is in his second season as an assistant with the University of St. Thomas staff, being part of the leadership group as the Tommies competed in their first two seasons in Division I hockey. He is responsible for the team's recruiting efforts and works with the team's forwards and penalty kill. The Seattle, WA, native, has been in the coaching ranks for 15 years, previously serving as assistant coach for Colorado College, working with defensemen and the penalty kill, while also coordinating the Tigers' recruiting operations where he was influential in improving class rankings each season. Hayward has also coached high school hockey in Connecticut and Massachusetts at the Avon Old Farms, Governor's and Taft prep schools. While coaching at Avon Old Farms he would coach five NHL draft picks, including first-round selections Trevor Zegras and Spencer Knight.
He played in 132 college games as a forward at Division I Northeastern (1998 to 2002), scoring 30 points (15 goals) and as a senior received the team's Unsung Hero Award. Hayward scored 85 goals and had 88 assists in six pro seasons, including four in the American Hockey League. He led Trenton to an ECHL championship in 2005 and was named Finals MVP as he finished with 11 points over 20 playoff games. In his time in Trenton, he played with various players and hockey staff who later joined the New Jersey Devils organization. Hayward received a master's degree in leadership from Northeastern in 2014. Leon and his wife, Jessica, have two sons, Ellison and Harlan.
"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to work with the New Jersey Devils coaching and development staff this year," said Hayward. "The ability to experience a multitude of NHL level experiences is invaluable and I am honored to work with the team and prospects."