NHL takes big strides on women in hockey ops executive roles

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

At the start of the year there were no women serving as assistant general managers in the National Hockey League. Now there are five. Chicago’s Meghan Hunter, New Jersey’s Kate Madigan, Toronto’s Hayley Wickenheiser and Vancouver’s Cammi Granato and Émilie Castonguay are on the leading edge of hockey’s concerted effort to diversify front offices and catch up with other sports in that department. Three of them were promoted to AGM over the past six weeks. The league has moved quickly to push for women in executive roles. Doing the same on the coaching front is the NHL’s next frontier.