Arizona Coyotes Name First Female Full-Time Coach in NHL History

The Arizona Coyotes named Dawn Braid as the NHL’s first female full-time coach.

Only the organization declined to name her as such in matter-of-factly announcing the hiring of Dawn Braid as a skating coach along with two other additions.

“Braid begins a full-time role with the Coyotes after joining the franchise on a part-time basis in 2015,” the team announced. “She has previously worked as a skating consultant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames. Braid also spent seven years with the Athletes Training Center as its director of skating development where she instructed a variety of skaters including New York Islanders center John Tavares.”

The move follows NBA and NFL teams hiring woman to coach, notably the Buffalo Bills making Kathryn Smith a special teams coach and the San Antonio Spurs naming Becky Hammon as an assistant coach.

“It’s something that I’ve wanted to see happen,” Braid told the Arizona Republic. “The fact that they respect what I do enough to name me as a full-time coach, or to name me as the first female coach in the NHL, I take a ton of pride in that. I’ve worked very hard for this opportunity. It’s been going on for years and I just look forward to going even further with it.”