NHL Team Hires First Woman As Assistant Coach
The Seattle Kraken hired Jessica Campbell, making her the first woman to coach full-time behind an NHL bench.
“I'm humbled, obviously, to be in this position,” Campbell said. You speak to the word first, to be the first. But that's never really where my focus is, it's always on the work, it's on the impact, it's on the job. There's a lot to this game, and to this job, and so, I've never taken it for granted.”
Jessica Campbell‘s resume is long, and there is no doubt she has the experience to coach in the National Hockey League.
Campbell Makes NHL History
2024-25 will be Campbell’s third year in the Kraken organization. She was hired in 2022 as an assistant for Seattle’s American Hockey League team. She was the first woman to coach in AHL history.
Campbell worked with coach Dan Bylsma in the American League for two seasons before he was named the Seattle Head Coach in May. Bylsma and Campbell took the Coachella Valley Firebirds to back-to-back appearances in the Calder Cup Finals in the AHL.
Campbell was also an assistant coach for the men’s national team in Germany.
‘Dynamic’ Amateur And Pro Playing Career
Campbell played four years at Cornell and was team captain. She scored more than 100 points in her four-year career, and Cornell University described her as one of the university’s most dynamic scorers.
Campbell played professional hockey in Canada and Sweden before starting her own business as a skating and skills coach. She had several NHL clients.
The Saskatchewan native was a 2015 silver medalist in the Women’s World Championship and a two-time medalist at the U18 Women’s World Championship.
Campbell Gets Called Up To The NHL
Kraken General Manager Ron Francis hired Campbell two years ago and said he watched her work in the AHL.
“She's got a real good knowledge of the game, a real good skill set in the development part as well,” Francis said. “So I think the staff complements each other. And I think Dan's done a good job putting it all together. We're excited to see what it holds for us going forward.”
This season, Campbell will work with the forwards and will also work on the power play with longtime NHL assistant Bob Woods.
“She's going to be awesome,” Woods said. “I’ve only known her for a few days, but she's good, she's really good.”
“I think what's special and I'm excited about here in Seattle, whether it's a young girl or young boy’s first NHL game, they're never going to see anything different than what they can possibly become,” Campbell said. “And I'm happy to be able to play that role and picture that for the young kids.”