The Daily Faceoff Show: Will we see a female NHL head coach or general manager first?

It’s International Women’s Day, and while the NHL (and the sporting world in general) isn’t quite as far along as it could be at integrating women into the league, strides have certainly made, especially in the past couple years.

Look no further than the Vancouver Canucks, who’ve hired Émilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato as assistant general managers, the highest hockey-ops position we’ve seen a woman hold in the NHL yet, along with tabbing Rachel Doerrie as an analyst, or the Seattle Kraken bringing in Alexandra Mandrycky as director of hockey administration and Namita Nandakumar as an analyst.

There’s certainly a lot to celebrate on the women’s side of hockey today, but the league still isn’t where it needs to be. Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna posed the question on the Daily Faceoff Show today as to where we will see that next big step in hockey: the first female GM or head coach?

Mike McKenna: “Looking at the board that we just have up right now, I have to think it’s in management. I haven’t seen the upward mobility within the coaching range just yet from the women’s side. A lot of the college coaches in NCAA Division I hockey are still men coaching the women, so there’s a bit of a lag there for whatever reason. I know that we’ll see more women coaches coming out and being able to do things in the men and women’s games, but I think there’s a lag.

In the general manager’s side, when somebody gets hired as an assistant general manager, like Émilie Castonguay or Cammi Granato in Vancouver, anytime that person comes into the role, there’s about a three- to five-year incubation period before other people around the league seem to think that an AGM is ready for the management role as the big dog, as the GM in the chair.

So, realistically, I don’t think we may be that far away from seeing the first female general manager in the NHL, maybe three to five years, maybe sooner for all we know. But there’s more people to choose from on the management side just now.

But I will say this. The more women that are in management, the more of everyone that’s made this much more diverse, it gives a pathway for coaches to come in. It makes that a little bit easier to have that transition. I like that, I’m happy to see it, because the more smart people we have in hockey, the better.”

Frank Seravalli: “Yeah, you said it so well. It’s a path forward. Dream it, see it, be it. That’s really what’s taken place.

I don’t want to sleep on the idea of a NHL female head coach. I think there’s been incredible work done on that front, but certainly more to go to your point. I look at someone like Hayley Wickenheiser on the development end with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I have no doubt in my mind that she could step onto an NHL bench today as an assistant coach and be such an effective and interesting addition. She’s also juggling being a medical doctor at the same time, making her rounds there as well. Such an incredibly talented and hard-working person, but she’s someone that I have my eye on as the potential to be that first NHL head coach from the female side.”

You can watch the full episode here…