The Capitals promoted Emily Engel-Natzke to video coordinator on Thursday, making her the first woman to be hired as an NHL coach in the franchise’s 47-year history.
Engel-Natzke, 31, already had become the first woman hired as a coach in organization history when she became video coach of the Hershey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate, in 2020. After spending the past two seasons in Hershey, she will now work alongside longtime assistant coach/video Brett Leonhardt and replaces Jared Elenberger, who left to pursue other opportunities.
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Engel-Natzke is the first woman to be hired as a full-time coach in NHL history, according to the NHL Coaches’ Association.
“It’s obviously really exciting,” she said this week. “My time in Hershey has been awesome and I think it has really prepared me for this opportunity.”
Congrats to Emily Engel-Natzke! 👏👏
She’s officially the first full-time female coach for an NHL team, and has been a valued member of our #NHLCA Female Coaches Development Program since it’s inception in 2020.
Welcome to the #NHL! https://t.co/dxqbEZbt1g
— NHL Coaches’ Association (@NHLCoachesAssoc) June 30, 2022
Engel-Natzke’s passion for hockey began as a youth player in Fort Collins, Colo. It ultimately led her to the club team at the University of Colorado, where she majored in film studies. But as her classmates pursued movie industry jobs in Los Angeles and New York, she took a video coaching position with USA Hockey at the 2013 World University Games.
A couple of years later, Engel-Natzke was hired as the video coach for the men’s and women’s teams at Wisconsin, where she worked under Badgers head coach Tony Granato, whom she credited with pushing her to follow her NHL dreams.
“He was really key in helping me learn and grow and push to be an NHL-style video coach with a heavy workload, long hours,” she said. “Once I started working with him, I felt like that dream could be a reality.”
After six seasons in Madison and a couple more international tournament assignments with Team USA, Emily-Natzke got her first pro gig when she was hired in Hershey in 2020.
It wasn’t long before her work ethic and eye for detail put her on the radar for promotion.
Emily Engel-Natzke (Courtesy of Hershey Bears)Caps head coach Peter Laviolette said Engel-Natzke is the best person for the job, which entails cutting and editing video for team presentations, pre-scouts of opponents as well as video breakdowns for individual players, among other duties.
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“Obviously it’s important and it’s significant,” he said. “But as we looked this, 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. That’s what development is all about.
“For me,” Laviolette continued, “we got the best person — and that’s the most important thing. This was earned and deserved, and I’m excited for the opportunity to be able to work with Emily.”
Engel-Natzke joins a small-but-growing number of women recently hired in front offices, scouting departments and the coaching ranks.
Among the hires, Émilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato were named assistant general managers in Vancouver earlier this year, making them the second and third women in league history to hold that post; Angela Gorgone served in the same role in Anaheim during the 1996-97 season.
Meghan Hunter was promoted to assistant general manager of the Blackhawks last week. In January, Aisha Visram, the head athletic trainer of the AHL’s Ontario Reign, was called up by Los Angeles.
At least three teams employ scouts who are women: Blake Bolden in Los Angeles, Krissy Wendell-Pohl in Pittsburgh and Brigette Lacquette in Chicago.
On Thursday, it became Engel-Natzke’s turn.
“It’s surreal,” she said. “I’ve never really looked at myself through 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. But with everything that’s going on geopolitically, I’m more so just honored to be the first. Hopefully, it just opens the door even further for people who want to get into this job and this profession.”
Engel-Natzke added: “I know there’s a lot of other women who can fill other roles. There’s a lot of really great coaches in international play, the NCAA. Hopefully, the door just keeps opening a little bit more and I hope in a couple years it’s not as big of a deal; it’s just another hire. But I think it’s been really encouraging that you’re seeing women in different roles, whether it’s in coaching, whether it’s in management, athletic training and equipment management. So, it’s really encouraging and really promising and hopefully younger women see that and it can become a goal for them, too.”
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Training camp at MedStar Capitals Iceplex will mark Engel-Natzke’s biggest step yet, as she jumps from helping prospects and minor leaguers to aiding Alex Ovechkin and Co.
So, yes, there might be some nerves on Day 1, she acknowledged. But it will help a little that she spent some time around the players and coaches in camp last year.
“You go in and there’s a bit of an intimidation factor; some of the greatest players in the world are on the ice,” she said. “But (that familiarity) definitely helps the nerves and eases that transition a little bit.”
(Top photo of Emily Engel-Natzke: Courtesy of the Hershey Bears)
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