Four-time U.S. Olympian and Minnesota Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield is taking a leave from hockey because she is pregnant with her second child, she said in an announcement on Thursday.
The 34-year-old Coyne Schofield revealed the news in a social media post on X that featured a picture of her son, Drew, wearing a cap with the words “big bro” on it, and the caption: “Coming soon...” followed by a heart emoji.
Coyne Schofield will miss the entire PWHL season and will not compete in the women’s world ice hockey championship tournament, which opens in Denmark next week. Though she practiced with Team USA at its pretournament camp in Plymouth, Michigan, this week, she will not be joining the team overseas, the team said.
“We can’t wait to welcome the newest member of the Frost family next year, and we’ll be here to support Kendall and her family every way possible,” Frost GM Melissa Caruso wrote in a message posted by the team on its X account. “Kendall means so much to our team both on and off the ice. While we’ll miss seeing her compete this season, the leadership, experience and energy she brings to the Frost extends far beyond the game.”
Coyne Schofield is from the Chicago area and is married to former NFL offensive lineman Michael Schofield. In August, she signed a two-year contract to continue playing for the Frost, with whom Coyne Schofield opened her PWHL career as one of the team's first three foundational players in 2023.
She won her second Olympic gold medal in February at the Milan Cortina Games, and is a two-time silver medalist. She’s also a two-time PWHL Walter Cup champion with the Frost.
Coyne Schofield played an integral role in negotiations to launch the PWHL as a six-team league in 2023. She’s previously joked that she give birth to her son on July 1, 2023 and then the league a day later, when players voted to ratify the PWHL’s collective bargaining agreement.
Before the inaugural season opened, the PWHL altered its CBA as a result of Coyne Schofield by providing a nanny for players’ children through their first birthday.
Overall, Coyne Schofield has 41 goals and 98 points in 89 international career games, to go along with six world championship gold medals. In 77 career PWHL games, she’s tied for fourth on the league list with 30 career goals and tied for third with 63 points.
See AP’s full women’s hockey coverage here
FILE - Minnesota Frost forward Kendall Coyne Schofield celebrates with the Walter Cup after her team won the PWHL hockey finals against the Ottawa Charge, May 26, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt, File)
DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will campaign Sunday in Detroit alongside former primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens, marking their first public appearance together in months after a week in which lingering divisions spilled into public view.
The two will be joined by South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, one of the country's most prominent Black politicians, at a get-out-the-vote event at a Detroit church, according to two people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
The joint appearance — their first since a Democratic unity breakfast days after the Aug. 4 primary — comes after weeks of Democrats struggling to unite behind El-Sayed after he defeated Stevens by a razor-thin margin. She received significant support from the Jewish and Black communities, leading to concerns about turnout in the general election.
Tensions again spilled into public view Wednesday when Stevens' fiance, Jason Turkish, told The Detroit News that he would vote for Republican Mike Rogers.
Hours later, Stevens appeared on CNN to reaffirm that she would be voting for El-Sayed, but urged his campaign to “shut out the hate and call it out.”
“Make people who are in my coalition, right, make them feel comfortable about coming to the polls,” said Stevens, who drew significant support from Jewish and Black voters during the primary.
El-Sayed's criticism of Israel, past remarks and associations with controversial streamer Hasan Piker have long drawn concern from some in Michigan's large Jewish community. Turkish and others in the Jewish community have said El-Sayed hasn't done enough to address concerns ahead of the general election.
The latest controversy centered on an ad by Rebellion PAC, an independent left-wing group, that linked U.S. support for Israel to high grocery prices.
“That has nothing to do with our campaign,” El-Sayed said of the ad. “It’s certainly not what I want to be talking about right now.”
Stevens and other Democrats urged him to go further to denounce the content of the advertisement rather than merely distancing himself from it.
Republicans face political challenges of their own, particularly voter dissatisfaction with Trump, the Iran war and high costs. Rogers has remained closely aligned with the president on most issues, appearing alongside him at a Michigan rally Sunday where he credited Trump with bringing manufacturing jobs back to the state.
The rally took place in Port Huron, just across the river from Canada, a country with deep economic ties to Michigan that Trump has targeted with tariffs.
El-Sayed has held campaign events in heavily Republican areas, including Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. His team also released an ad featuring clips of prominent conservative figures praising him, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has faced accusations of antisemitism that he denies.
But the ad created another source of friction with some Jewish voters.
Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield criticized both the Rebellion PAC ad and El-Sayed’s campaign ad during a call with reporters.
“We are one week away from the election, and it feels like the temperature has turned way up,” Starr said. “Instead of things getting better over the last seven weeks, they’ve actually gotten worse.”
Rogers, meanwhile, appeared Wednesday with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at an event hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Birmingham, Michigan. Cruz called antisemitism “a poison that is ripping the country apart” and accused Democrats of being taken over by “self-proclaimed communists and Islamists.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked El-Sayed’s Muslim faith, calling him a “jihadist” and saying Sunday that he was “on the side of terrorists.”
Both candidates are trying to win over Black voters, particularly in Detroit's Wayne County, where Stevens defeated El-Sayed in the Democratic primary.
El-Sayed is expected to campaign Sunday in the Detroit area with Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, part of an effort to shore up support among Black voters. Much of El-Sayed's final campaign stretch has included events in Detroit aimed at increasing turnout.
Rogers has also sought to make inroads with Black voters. He visited a reading remediation program at a Detroit high school and discussed housing costs with residents in Pontiac, north of the city. Earlier this month, his wife handed out $10 gift cards at a gas station.
The gesture drew criticism from Ruby Farmer, a 68-year-old Detroit retiree.
“You’re giving out gas cards in the inner city, you never would come for any other reason,” Farmer said.
While Farmer has a bit of difficulty pronouncing El-Sayed's name, she cast her ballot for him three weeks ago anyways. El-Sayed has come out in opposition to policies by Trump — policies Farmer says directly impact her family.
“I have a special-needs son,” said Farmer. “He depends on Medicaid. Medicaid has been cut, and for home care workers in Michigan all the benefits are on hold.”
Cappelletti reported from Washington.
President Donald Trump, right, greets Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican candidate for Senate, on stage during a campaign rally at McMorran Place Sports and Entertainment Center, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Port Huron, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas greets supporters for Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers during a campaign event Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers greets supporters during a campaign event Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Former President Barack Obama, center, joined by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, right with Secretary of State nominee, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, second from right and Attorney General nominee Eli Savit, second from left, clasp hands after a campaign event at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to a crowd during a rally, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Kristen Norman)
