Guest Coach Sydney Baldwin Making an Impact at Preds Development Camp

If you have been to Centennial Sportsplex this week to see some of the Nashville Predators' top prospects skate at Development Camp, you may have noticed another new face on the ice: Guest Coach Sydney Baldwin.

Baldwin joins the Preds at Development Camp this summer by way of the NHL Coaches Association's Female Coaches Development Program, an initiative that "aims to support female coaches in several areas including skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking, and career advancement opportunities."

"Essentially, [the program] works to provide advancement and learning opportunities for female coaches," Baldwin said. "There are about 100-plus female coaches that are part of that program, and they partnered with some NHL teams to provide advancement opportunities and a foot in the door for female coaches."

Currently in its third year, the initiative includes a partnership with several NHL teams - including the Predators - that invite a female coach from the program to be a guest instructor at their development camp during the summer. After her name was put forward for consideration by NHLCA President Lindsay Pennal, Baldwin interviewed with Preds General Manager Barry Trotz, Assistant GM Scott Nichol and other members of the hockey operations staff before being offered the guest coach position in Nashville.

"They were just looking for the right fit and the right person who would fit in with their staff," she said. "I'm really grateful to be the one who got that opportunity."

Baldwin played youth and high school hockey in Minnetonka, Minn., where she was a three-time AAA High school hockey state champion and was recognized as Ms. Hockey in 2014. She also represented the United States at the IIHF U18 Women's World Championships in 2013 and 2014, winning a silver medal both times and serving as an alternate captain in 2014.

She went on to play at the University of Minnesota from 2014-2018, where she was a two-time NCAA Women's Hockey National Champion. As a captain of the Golden Gophers during her senior season, Baldwin was recognized as the WCHA player of the year and defensive player of the year and was named an AHCA 2018 first-team All-American.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in health services management and human resources development, Baldwin went on to play hockey for the Vienna Sabres in the EWHL and won the Austrian Championship in 2019. She returned stateside later that year to pursue her master of science in nursing from St. Catherine University. During her graduate studies, she served as an assistant coach for the NCAA Division III St. Catherine Wildcats women's ice hockey program while also playing professionally for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation.

Baldwin spent four seasons with the Whitecaps, coached by Preds North American Amateur Scout Ronda Engelhardt, before deciding to hang up the skates in 2022 to pursue her passion of influencing and developing young hockey players. She now works as a nurse in a step down intensive care unit in Minneapolis, but her long-term goal is to make coaching her full-time job.

At Development Camp, Baldwin is working directly with the coaching staffs of the Predators and Milwaukee Admirals to educate and direct players in their pro development and conditioning programs and work on their on-ice fundamentals. She is working primarily with the defensemen on puck protection, retrievals, edgework and a variety of other skills.

"As a player and a coach, I've always had an eye for attention to detail and defensive skills," Baldwin said. "I was a defenseman as well, so I think that's where my mind always is naturally."

While the players at Predators Development Camp are benefiting from Baldwin's knowledge and expertise, Baldwin herself is reaping the benefits of working closely with the Preds staff through the NHLCA Female Coaches Development Program that has provided networking and mentorship opportunities to her and many other female hockey coaches.

"Everyone has been so welcoming and so open to allowing me to be a part of conversations and be in on meetings," Baldwin said. "That's all so beneficial for me, and I appreciate it because the organization is willing to invest in young coaches and young players here at the development camp. It's an experience for me, and I hope I'm also helping out with that as well… It's always good to be adding more tools to my toolbox."