The hockey betting season never fails to disappoint in providing a good share of memorable moments, but now it seems the NHL is making history before the first puck even hits the ice. Fresh off the wire is the announcement that the Arizona Coyotes are breaking down barriers by hiring the NHL’s first full-time female coach. It’s certainly refreshing to see the NHL making strides in gender equality but they aren’t the first professional sports league in the US to do so. In the NFL two teams have recently made headlines for contributing to gender progress, the first being the Arizona Cardinals and the Buffalo Bills being the second. Apparently Arizona is the state most open to these kinds of moves, however, credit has to be given to Buffalo for hiring the first full-time female coach. But enough about the NFL, let’s check in on Dawn Braid the Coyotes’ newest addition.
Even though this is her first full-time position, Braid is in no way a stranger to the NHL. Braid is considered a skating expert by players and coaches alike and has served as a consultant for the Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Her popularity across the league is unquestionable, even if she isn’t that well known in the hockey betting community. Last year she came over to the Coyotes’ organization and Wednesday they announced the decision to bring her along full-time. With the hiring of Braid, Arizona is the latest franchise in men’s sport to hire a female coach. On top of the aforementioned NFL hires, the NBA has hired two female assistant coaches, Nancy Lieberman of the Sacramento Kings and Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs.
“It’s something that I’ve wanted to see happen,” Braid said in a statement released to the press by the Coyotes. “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.”
The announcement of the Coyotes’ decision came late Wednesday afternoon and is a prime example of the commitment Arizona is making to increasing their prospects agility on the ice. The NHL, just like every other professional sports league, keeps on getting faster and stronger, ultimately, committing to increasing a player’s velocity on the ice will payoff in the long run.
“We feel that Dawn can provide a real competitive advantage for our team.” John Chayka, general manager of the Coyotes, told azcentral.com. “The game is getting faster and it’s all about skating. A lot of times, when you’re drafting a young player, skating is an area that they need to improve upon.”
“Now we have someone who can help them with that”
The Coyotes aren’t coming off their best season. After going 35-39-8 it’s easy to understand why they face such staggering hockey betting odds. Arizona is pegged at +5550 odds to win the Stanley Cup and +2250 to win the Western Conference. We’ll have to wait until next year to see what kind of impact Dawn’s full-time addition will make across the top sportsbooks.
