Coyne Schofield, Olympic teammates perform Blackhawks puck drop

The Chicago Blackhawks brought the bling to their pregame ceremony.

Donning their fresh Olympic silver medals, Team USA ice hockey captain Kendall Coyne Schofield and five of her 2022 Olympic teammates -- Alex Cavallini, Abbey Murphy, Jesse Compher, Savannah Harmon and Megan Bozek -- participated in the Blackhawks puck drop before the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. It's one of many ways the Blackhawks are shedding light on the contributions of the women involved in the game and on its staff ahead of International Women's Day.

Local high school girls are shadowing all the women in the Blackhawks front office. The Blackhawks game presentation and call staff is also all female, and Caley Chelios will be the color analyst for the broadcast.
"International Women's Day is an exciting day and for me, it's a huge opportunity," Chelios said in a Blackhawks Twitter video. "It shows me representation matters. Women do belong."

Coyne Schofield said the same of women broadcasters, players and front-office personnel.
"It's extremely important because you need to see it to be it, and there's a lot of young girls who'll be watching the broadcast," she said.
Coyne Schofield represented Team USA in the past three Olympics, earning gold in 2018 and silver in 2022 and 2014. She largely drew her Olympic dreams from Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Cammi Granato.
Granato captained the 1998 and 2002 Team USA Olympic women's ice hockey teams. In 2010, Granato became the first woman inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"[Girls] will see us on the ice and be like, can I play for Team USA? I was that young girl," Coyne Schofield said. "I saw Cammi. I was a bug on the glass in 2002 when Team USA played Team Canada leading up into the Olympics and I watched No. 21 go all over the ice everywhere I could, in and out of the tunnel. That was who I wanted to be one day. I'll never be Cammi Granato but I've been able to wear the Team USA jersey, win a gold medal just like her, and all these young people who'll be inspired by the international women's game today and seeing all these other women in these roles and the sport of hockey is only going to increase our pipeline and the dreams of so many young people."
- NHL.com Staff Writer Tracey Meyers contributed to this report.