Over the last few years, there have been several examples of women breaking new ground when they were hired to permanent positions at the highest levels of professional sports. Becky Hammon joined Gregg Popovich's staff as a full-time assistant coach with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs in 2014. A few months later, Nancy Lieberman signed on as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. Earlier this year, the NFL's Buffalo Bills made Kathryn Smith the league's first full-time female coach when she joined Rex Ryan's staff as a quality-control special teams coach.

Absent from that list, though, was an NHL team. While several teams had hired women to serve as coaches on a part-time basis, none had made the commitment to employing a full-time female coach… until a few weeks ago when the Arizona Coyotes brought Dawn Braid on as their full-time skating coach. It was a move that drew a very positive reaction at the league level now that the door has been opened to promote the inclusion of women as full-time coaches at the highest level of hockey.

"I was pleased on a whole host of levels. I can't say I was necessarily familiar with her work but I was pleased that one of our organizations opened a door like that because I think it's a significant door," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told VICE Sports in a telephone interview. "It's not that women are not qualified to do jobs in our sport because I think they are, and it's not as if they haven't had an opportunity to do jobs in our sport because I think they have for a while—particularly skating coaches. But for a club to have the forethought to make it a permanent position I think really makes a statement, and it's a positive statement. I obviously hope that others will be able to go through that door as well."

Hayley Wickenheiser knows all about pushing the barriers of female participation in hockey. The five-time Olympic medalist became the first woman to score a goal in a men's professional league while skating for Kirkkonummi Salamat in Finland's Division II league in 2003.

Despite her role, though, as a forebearer for women's participation in hockey, she has long since altered her view of hockey as being a sport divided. Braid's hiring as a full-time NHL coach only served to reinforce Wickenheiser's mindset.

"I think it's a natural evolution of the game. I don't see the game as divided into male and female so much as it's about competence," explained the native of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan in an exclusive interview with VICE Sports. "It's taken some progressive and forward thinking to look outside the traditional box and now people are starting to see that whoever has the skill set to do the job, it's about hiring the best person possible to do the job. And obviously the Coyotes felt like she was in her niche, so it's great news moving forward for other women in the game."

Even though there was no barrier in Wickenheiser's mind that needed to be removed, she admitted the perception that Braid's hiring as a full-time coach will have means a lot to other women aspiring to reach the same level. Moreover, it will work to cement a broader mindset that having female coaches at the NHL level should be as commonplace as teams hiring a goalie coach.

"It breaks down that barrier of saying if you're competent enough to do the job, the option is out there," said Wickenheiser. "I've never felt like it wasn't an option to have a woman as a coach in the NHL, I just felt that it's come down to timing, attitudes and the right woman for the right job."

Daly agreed that Braid's hiring as a full-time coach holds a certain gravitas that should mean a lot to women in hockey.

"It certainly creates a visibility that probably didn't exist prior so there's no doubt in my mind that it will have a very positive effect on young women aspiring to work in hockey on various levels," said the NHL's deputy commissioner. "For better or for worse, the first full-time coaching position is a big deal, it gets media attention and it makes a statement that the possibility exists. It should be inspirational to a lot of young women who want to make a living in our game."

As Braid gets set to embark on her first season as a full-time NHL coach, more ceilings are being shattered by female coaches at lower levels of hockey.

Earlier this month, Kori Cheverie, after playing six seasons with the Toronto Furies of the CWHL, joined the Ryerson Rams men's hockey team as the first female assistant coach in men's CIS hockey. Wickenheiser feels that with Braid's hiring opening the door it is only a matter of time until we see females take positions similar to Cheverie at the NHL level.

"We still have yet to see a female as a head or an assistant coach in the NHL, so that will be the next step," she said. "But hiring a woman full time in a position like this is obviously very important."

Braid is not a newcomer to the NHL by any stretch, having worked as a part-time consultant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames. In fact, in addition to her full-time role with the Coyotes, Braid will continue serving as a consultant with the Flames, working primarily with their younger prospects.

She first began working with NHL players around the time of the 2004-05 lockout after a chance meeting with Matt Nichol, who was the Leafs' strength and conditioning coach at the time. Nichol, who went on to create the sports drink BioSteel, and who now runs his own gym in Toronto, invited Braid to work with some of the players as they kept in shape in the event that the lockout was settled.

"At first it was just a handful of guys, primarily guys who were coming off injuries and couldn't do full practices," Nichol told VICE Sports. "It made sense to me that if they had an injury, their mechanics were a little messed up because one leg has been dysfunctional for a while. So she would work with guys to help get the proper movement patterns back and guys were receptive to it."

Having competed as a professional figure skater, Braid had been helping teach skating techniques to her son's minor hockey team and had worked with some junior players. It made sense to Nichol to have her pass on her expertise to professional players, too.

"To me, mechanics are mechanics, it doesn't matter if you are 10 or 30, it's the same mechanics when you're skating," said Nichol.

But it was the way in which Braid was able to communicate her instructions that he found most impressive.

"Her demeanour and the way she approached the guys was great," said Nichol. "We had other skating coaches that had worked with the team and it didn't go well because a lot of times it was, 'If you can't do the things that I can do, you're not going to be successful.' That didn't make sense to the guys because they were already very successful making money playing hockey. Dawn just has a very non-confrontational approach and was able to teach guys techniques in a way that left their ego and pride intact."

One of the players who worked closely with her at that time was Matt Stajan, who was just 20 years old and coming off his first full season in the NHL. The 12-year veteran was assisted by Braid after his 27-point rookie season.

"We would have her come out once or twice a week in the summers and try to help us maximize our skating power and the way you skate," recalled Stajan in a phone interview with VICE Sports. "You try and do things like that to make yourself as good a skater as can be because obviously that's one of the most important parts of the game. If you can't skate, you can't play anymore, so she helped me a lot when I was in my early days in Toronto."

Stajan felt, as Nichol explained, much of Braid's success came down to her ability to effectively communicate with the players.

"That's what is so hard being someone who comes in to work with NHL players. Trying to get the message across where you are kind of working with guys is really important so that guys buy in," Stajan said. "She's easy to talk to and the bottom line is she was out there to help you."

Now a veteran of over 850 NHL games, Stajan explained that improving your skating once you reach the professional level is difficult. To entirely overhaul the skating stride you developed at a young age is just too difficult, but minor adjustments can be made to maintain and improve your speed.

"You are trying to tweak little things to maximize your stride and that's what she's really good at helping guys figure out," Stajan pointed out when asked what Braid is able to help with. "Things like keeping your body balanced and trying to lengthen your stride so you aren't as choppy and aren't using as much energy to get to your top speed."

Now over a decade later and having crossed paths again with the Flames, the news of Braid's hiring as a full-time coach did not come as a surprise to Stajan.

"Seeing that she's getting a lot of exposure throughout the league with her new job in Phoenix and still working with us on a part-time basis, it's great," he said. "It doesn't surprise me at all because she really knows what she's talking about."

Nowadays, NHL teams have begun using individual skills coaches to help players refine their skills throughout the season. In the past, practice time focused predominantly on systems work, but in recent years, it's not uncommon to see players on the ice prior to the main session working on skating or shot technique.

In the midst of a season, skill development can be easily overlooked as teams look to improve the way they function as a unit. But as the game has trended to reward elite skill and speed, it makes sense to Wickenheiser to bring on board people like Braid who can have a tangible impact on skill development.

"The NHL is a lot about wins and losses and it's a very cut-throat environment. When I talk to NHL players all the time, they'll tell me there's not much time spent on individual skill development unless I do it on my own time," Wickenheiser said. "So this is smart, it's progressive and it makes sense that instead of bringing someone in and out during the season as most teams do, having someone there who takes a few guys aside each day, they develop a relationship and then they're more likely to listen and apply it to games."

Beyond just Braid's skating expertise, having a woman as a member of the coaching staff will add a positive dynamic. In her experience, Wickenheiser has found that oftentimes NHL players really enjoy working with female coaches.

Training throughout the summer with a group of NHL players in Calgary, Wickenheiser pointed out that the on-ice sessions are run by her former teammate Danielle Goyette.

"Guys love it," she said. "It adds a dynamic to professional sport having a woman as a part of your staff that I think is a good one. A lot of guys seem to be more comfortable speaking to a female, they're less threatened by it and they're a little bit more apt to be more open and receptive and to listen."

At the end of the day, in professional sports, what matters is production. Can you deliver results? If you can, it's amazing how fast barriers will fall. With Braid, the Coyotes feel her body of work has shown enough to indicate an edge to those she has instructed, and for GM John Chayka, that potential competitive advantage in an area (skating) that he feels young players traditionally need improvement on, is really all that mattered.

There will be more Dawn Braids, and the Coyotes' decision to hire her was an important and necessary step to ensuring that.