A decorated Olympian and accomplished player is joining the Chicago Blackhawks organization.

The team hired Kendall Coyne Schofield as a player development coach and youth hockey growth specialist Monday, making her the first woman to occupy the former role for the club.

Her duties will include helping to develop players as well as evaluating and scouting possible prospects for the coaching staff of the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate.

Coyne Schofield recently worked as an in-game analyst for NBC Sports. She became the first woman ever to compete in the NHL's All-Star Skills Competition in 2019, besting Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller's time in the fastest skater event.

The 28-year-old Illinois-born forward is a member of the U.S. national women's hockey team, having won gold with the squad at the 2018 Olympics and silver at the 2014 Games in addition to six World Championship titles.

Chicago now employs three women in its hockey operations department.

On Monday, the Blackhawks also promoted Meghan Hunter to the dual roles of director of hockey administration and amateur scout. Hunter was previously general manager Stan Bowman's senior executive assistant. The Blackhawks hired Mary DeBartolo as a hockey analytics coordinator in 2019, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

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The Winnipeg Jets are adding an experienced coach who also happens to have raised one of their players.

The club named Dave Lowry - father of Jets forward Adam - an assistant coach Monday.

The elder Lowry was the head coach of the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings last season. The former NHLer previously served as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings in 2017-18 and with the Calgary Flames from 2009-12.

He also has international experience, having guided Canadian teams as both a head coach and an assistant at the World Junior Championship. The 55-year-old helped the squad win gold in the latter capacity in 2015.

Lowry retired as a player in 2004. He suited up for 19 seasons in the NHL, notching 351 points and racking up 1,191 penalty minutes in 1,084 games.

He replaces former Jets assistant Todd Woodcroft, who the University of Vermont hired as head coach in April. Paul Maurice's staff also includes associate coach Jamie Kompon, assistant coach Charlie Huddy, and goaltending coach Wade Flaherty.

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Fred Sasakamoose, one of the first Indigenous players in NHL history, has been hospitalized due to a suspected case of COVID-19.

The hockey pioneer was admitted to a health facility Friday for treatment after having symptoms for a couple of days, according to a Facebook post from the official account of his national hockey championship. He was presumed positive at the time and was awaiting test results.

Sasakamoose's son, Neil, said Saturday afternoon that though his mother was initially misinformed about Fred's diagnosis, they were later told it was a presumed positive test. Neil added that Fred was experiencing shortness of breath and wheezing before being admitted to hospital Friday.

On Saturday evening, a nurse at the hospital took a photo of Sasakamoose smiling beside her, and the image was uploaded to the same Facebook account with a caption stating, "We just talked to him and he is fighting." One day later, Sasakamoose said in a short video he is "OK" and feeling better.

The 86-year-old played 11 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1953-54 and was named to the Order of Canada in 2017.

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Never doubt the tortoise's ability to cross the finish line on top.

U.S. authorities allowed Braden Holtby and his two pet reptiles to leave the country and cross into Canada on Friday, following an ordeal that left the Vancouver Canucks goaltender and his animal companions stranded at the border for several days.

On Wednesday, Holtby's wife, Brandi, asked her Twitter followers for help dealing with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the couple hadn't realized they needed to file export papers for the creatures in addition to import documents.

The next day, she revealed the government agency was on the case.

Finally, on Friday, she provided an update that brought the snafu to a satisfying conclusion.

Holtby, who was born in Saskatchewan, will play for a Canadian team for the first time in his NHL career next season. He signed a two-year, $8.6-million contract with the Canucks in October after spending 10 years with the Washington Capitals.

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Aesop once wrote that "slow and steady wins the race," and it appears U.S. Customs is doing its best to pay tribute to the classic fable.

On Wednesday, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Braden Holtby's wife, Brandi, asked her Twitter followers for help with a pet-related problem.

Later, she explained in a reply that the couple filed papers with the Canadian government but didn't realize they needed to do the same with the American authorities.

She also reiterated that Braden himself can't get into Canada because of the issue.

The netminder signed with the Canucks in October after playing 10 seasons with the Washington Capitals.

In May, the two animal lovers rescued a trapped kitten with the help of some passersby.

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The ECHL's six North Division clubs will suspend play for the 2020-21 campaign, the league announced Wednesday.

The Adirondack Thunder, Brampton Beast, Maine Mariners, Newfoundland Growlers, Reading Royals, and Worcester Railers will each sit out the season due to the ECHL's COVID-19 policy. All six teams are scheduled to return for 2021-22.

All players on the North Division clubs are now free agents.

"As we continue to navigate the continually changing regulations across North America, we recognize the difficult nature of this decision," ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin said in a statement. "While some of our teams' host cities have allowed upcoming plans to include fans inside arenas, we unfortunately do not see the same path for these highly affected areas in the Northeast."

Here are the division's NHL affiliations:

Wednesday's decision leaves 18 ECHL teams set to participate in 2020-21. The Atlanta Gladiators - who are affiliated with the Boston Bruins - and the unaffiliated Norfolk Admirals previously opted out of the campaign.

The ECHL is set to use a two-tiered system for the coming season. Thirteen teams will begin 72-game schedules on Dec. 11, while the other clubs will open 62-game slates on Jan. 15 "upon jurisdictional approval," according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

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Akim Aliu is pleased the Florida Panthers are hiring Brett Peterson, the former player agent who's believed to be the NHL's first Black assistant general manager.

"It's massive," Aliu, the co-head of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, told TSN's Kate Beirness. "It's a huge step in hopefully the right direction, and I couldn't be more thrilled. ... This is kind of what we're pushing for, and it's long overdue.

"We feel that there's a lot of people of color that are deserving of jobs and also people from different genders - obviously, women I think are very (adept at) doing a good job in the game of hockey - so we think this is a step in the right direction where hopefully this is the first of many."

Though Aliu approves of the move, he believes the NHL still has room for improvement.

"Honestly, it's a relief to see that things are kind of starting to come together, but I just think we've still got a lot of work to do," he said. "I think there are still people that are not super happy with some of the issues that are going on in our game and are not ready to accept the issues that have been going on in our game."

The Panthers hired Peterson on Tuesday, reuniting new Florida GM Bill Zito with his former colleague in player representation. The two worked together with Acme World Sports, the company Zito founded before leaving for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013.

Peterson's hiring continues a recent trend of minority hires in the NHL. Manny Malhotra joined the Toronto Maple Leafs as an assistant coach in September while the Philadelphia Flyers added Chris Stewart to their player development staff. In October, the Pittsburgh Penguins tabbed Trevor Daley as a hockey operations advisor upon his retirement. Stewart and Daley are two of the nine founders of the HDA.

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The Florida Panthers made a historic hiring Tuesday, naming Brett Peterson assistant general manager.

Peterson is believed to be the NHL's first Black assistant GM, according to the club.

The 39-year-old most recently served as vice president of hockey for Wasserman Media Group, a multi-sport marketing and talent management company. He's been a certified NHL player agent since 2009.

Peterson suited up for four seasons with Boston College as a defenseman from 2000-2004, helping the school win the national championship in 2001.

The Massachusetts-born executive reunites with Panthers GM Bill Zito, who founded Acme World Sports. Wasserman acquired Acme in June. Zito worked with Peterson at Acme before the Columbus Blue Jackets hired the now-Florida GM in 2013.

The Panthers also brought in former agent Paul Krepelka as an assistant GM earlier in November.

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Wayne Gretzky is second to none in the hockey world, but he'll happily play second fiddle to support a certain golfer in the family.

The Great One posed with Dustin Johnson while wearing full Masters caddie attire after the world No. 1 won the tournament in record fashion Sunday, as Paulina Gretzky's friend, Kristina Melnichenko, captured in her Instagram story.

Well, almost full caddie attire.

Johnson is engaged to Paulina, Wayne's daughter, and they have two young sons. The elder Gretzky has often supported Johnson in person at his events, though he now appears to have taken things to an entirely new level.

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University of Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato isn't happy Hockey Canada is prying away one of his best players for a significant portion of the college season.

Granato is frustrated the governing body of Canadian hockey is taking Dylan Holloway - the Edmonton Oilers' first-round pick in this year's draft - for its lengthy evaluation camp ahead of the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship. The promising forward will miss the final 10 games of the NCAA campaign's first half as a result.

"They've said all along that they need and want and he has to be here," Granato told the Wisconsin State Journal's Todd D. Milewski after a victory over Notre Dame on Saturday. "So from my side of things, I don't think it's right because his opportunity here to get ready for a world junior tournament playing games like this is a heck of a lot better than scrimmaging (with) 20 of your teammates that you're going to be in the tournament with."

Holloway left the Badgers on Sunday to fly to Red Deer, Alberta, site of the 28-day camp. The tournament ultimately begins Dec. 25 in Edmonton.

By contrast, USA Hockey plans to begin gathering players around Dec. 10 and already hosted initial evaluation sessions in October, according to Milewski. Wisconsin star and Montreal Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield could be among those considered for the U.S. squad.

Holloway, a sophomore center, scored the game-winner in highlight-reel fashion Saturday after tallying in the season opener Friday. Hockey Canada cut him at its evaluation camp before the previous world junior tournament.

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