Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell has etched her name into the NHL history book.
Campbell became the first full-time female assistant coach in NHL history to work behind the bench, making her regular-season debut on Oct. 8, 2024, when the Kraken dropped their season opener to the St. Louis Blues, 3-2.
Keep reading to learn more about Campbell as she continues to climb up the coaching ranks.
Campbell has history with the Kraken
Campbell coached for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate team, for two seasons — and made back-to-back appearances in the Calder Cup Finals in 2022 and 2023.
The Firebirds led the AHL with 252 goals in 2023-24.
Campbell, 32, was hired by the Kraken in July 2024 after Seattle made Dan Bylsma their new head coach in May of that year.
Bylsma coached the Firebirds the previous two seasons with Campbell on his staff.
“During our tenure in Coachella Valley, I saw firsthand Jessica’s commitment to player development,” Bylsma said of Seattle hiring Campbell. “Her ability to establish relationships with her players, specifically Tye Kartye, Shane Wright and Ryker Evans, was an important factor in this hire. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with her at the NHL level.”
Campbell is the first female coach in AHL history and NHL history.
“It fuels me everyday just knowing that I am a part of something way bigger than myself and my job in coaching,” Campbell said of her historic debut with the Kraken.
Campbell has coached on an international level
During the 2021-22 season, Campbell worked as an assistant coach and skills coach for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the DEL, the top men’s professional league in Germany.
She served as an assistant coach for Team Germany at the 2022 IIHF World Championship.
Campbell is a former player
Campbell played at Cornell from 2010-’14, where she was team captain her senior year, and played professionally for the Calgary Inferno, formerly of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
A two-time U-18 Women’s World Championship medalist (2009 and 2010), Campbell also won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2014 4 Nations Cup in Kamloops, B.C., and is a 2015 Women’s World Champion Silver medalist.
She went on to win multiple medals in international play with Team Canada before retiring from the national team in September 2017.
Campbell was on a reality show
Campbell participated in the sixth season of “Battle of the Blades,” a Canadian reality show in which hockey players are teamed up with figure skaters and perform weekly for a panel of judges to win money for a charity of their choice.
Campbell and her partner, ice dancer Asher Hill, were the runners-up in 2020 to the season’s champions, Meagan Duhamel and Wojtek Wolski.
They skated for Do It For Daron, a mental health advocacy organization.
