Emily Engel-Natzke joins Capitals as NHL's 1st female video coach
Emily Engel-Natzke wanted to make the National Hockey League as a video coach.
When the Washington Capitals named Engel-Natzke video coordinator on Thursday, she not only accomplished that goal, but she also became the first woman to hold a full-time position on an NHL coaching staff.
"I've never kind of really looked at myself in that lens, and I think if you may have asked me a week ago, I wouldn't have wanted it to be a big deal," Engel-Natzke said. "But with everything that's going on kind of geopolitically, I think I'm more so just honoured to be, I guess, the first. Hopefully that just opens the door even further for people who want to get into this job and this profession."
It's the latest in a series of promotions for women around the NHL in recent months after decades of slow progress in diversifying the sport in the coaching and executive ranks.
"This was earned and deserved," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We feel like we hired really a qualified person that we brought into the organization two years ago and came in and did an outstanding job, and that's what development is all about. For me, we got the best person and that's the most important thing."
"This has been a goal of mine for a long time ... I really can't think of a better scenario, personally, to step into."<a href="https://twitter.com/E_EngelNatzke?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@E_EngelNatzke</a> goes 1-on-1 with <a href="https://twitter.com/tarynbray?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tarynbray</a> to discuss joining the Capitals coaching staff. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALLCAPS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ALLCAPS</a> <a href="https://t.co/k6WO04kiks">pic.twitter.com/k6WO04kiks</a>
Engel-Natzke's path to Washington began in earnest in 2017 when she
