“ When I got hired and they were like , ‘ Hey , can you get to the draft ?’ I think I got hired on a Monday , and they asked me if I could get to the draft on Wednesday . I was in Montreal . So I remember going into sort of fight or flight like adrenaline mode and just like , I gotta get through this . We ’ re going to the draft . I ’ m scared as hell , meeting the entire staff for the first time . It was really nerve-wracking . The first night , it ’ s a dinner with the entire staff . I walk into a room of 40 men , everyone sitting at tables . It was intimidating . They do this “ rookie party ,” thing where they have all the new staff members go up and introduce themselves and tell jokes or a story . I remember pretty much blacking out through that and then all the sudden , I ’ m on the ice in Boston for development camp .
I ’ m embarrassed to say that I didn ’ t , at first , understand that it was an onice position . When it got announced , I honestly thought people were misspeaking . Like they kept saying “ the first on-ice female ,” and I honestly thought it was a mistake .
“ I look back at that first week and I was just sort of faking my way through it . I felt like I ’ ve learned so much since then , it gives me a lot of confidence going into this summer ’ s development camp . But I look back on it now and think , how did I get through that ? It ’ s just the adrenaline and you ’ re like , Okay , I just have to do this and then I ’ m done . I think remembering my time at Quinnipiac , all that adversity , and I ’ m like you know what ? Nothing is going to be that hard .”
And so far , Danielle says , she hasn ’ t really experienced sexism in the NHL .
“ Everybody has been so welcoming and kind . I can ’ t say enough good things about this organization . I really can ’ t . I ’ m not naive enough to say that sexism is completely gone , because I ’ ve heard the stories . But no , I haven ’ t yet encountered a situation where I ’ ve been uncomfortable in that way . There ’ s such an effort now . And I believe that playing women ’ s sports is just about the most progressive world you can be in … [ The Bruins ] want to educate people about the sport who aren ’ t typically from hockey communities . They want to grow the game for women , but also for people of color , for the indigenous communities , for communities that don ’ t traditionally have representation in the NHL .”
These days Danielle is working in player development with drafted ( but unsigned ) players . It ’ s a job that has a lot of moving parts and involves watching their games and going to their practices when she can . She monitors dozens of players at several schools from Ontario and Quebec to Ohio , North Dakota , and Minnesota … she travels to four or five games a week to see them play , watches video
and prepares tape weekly … has conversations with them all , about hockey , but also just to check in and see how they ’ re doing with all the pressures of college life .
And does she ever feel any pressure herself , as the first NHL woman with an on-ice coaching position ?
“ Sure , I guess a little bit ,” she admits . “ But I don ’ t think about it too much . I have confidence in my ability to do this job well . And I try to lean on that feeling more than I think about the pressure . I also know I ’ m not important enough that if I fail I ’ m going to be the reason that women are no longer hired in the NHL . There are other women who are doing incredible things in the NHL . And so , collectively , I hope that our group continues to carve that path .”
As fulfilling as this new position is , Danielle is always a big picture person who has one eye on the future .
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