Jessica Campbell to help coach Seattle Kraken in preseason game
The Seattle Kraken will welcome Jessica Campbell, the assistant coach for their AHL affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds, behind the bench tonight as they take on the Calgary Flames in their first pre-season matchup.
#SeaKraken will welcome @Firebirds assistant coach, Jessica Campbell behind the bench tonight at @ClimateArena for the matchup against Calgary.
She is believed to be the first woman to coach an NHL game.
Campbell currently serves as an assistant coach for the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Dan Bylsma’s coaching staff. Campbell became the first-ever female assistant coach in American Hockey League history when the organization initially hired her on July, 5, 2022.
Campbell and the team found immediate success in her first season as an assistant coach for the Firebirds. Coachella Valley finished second in the AHL’s Pacific division and registered a 48-17-5 record in 72 games this past regular season. They won three playoff rounds, making it to the Calder Cup finals before eventually losing to the Hershey Bears in a seven-game series.
Before coaching the Firebirds, Campbell spent time with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL in a player development role. Impressively enough, she served as an assistant coach with Germany at the IIHF men’s world championships and was the first woman to coach at that event in 2022.
Throughout her playing career, Campbell was an integral member of Canada at the under-18 world championships in 2009 and 2010. In those tournaments, she showcased dynamic skill and was the leading scorer in 2010 with 15 points. Additionally, she scored the golden goal in Canada’s 5-4 win over the United States in the gold-medal game. This earned her MVP at the 2010 tournament while she captained Canada.
Campbell also played in the Canadian Woman’s Hockey League for three seasons from 2014-17, suiting up for the Calgary Inferno. During that time, she amassed 50 points in 63 games.
After her playing career, Campbell began JC Powerskating, providing skating and skill development training. Since starting the company, she has trained Tyson Jost, Stanley Cup champion Joel Edmundson, and Olympic gold medalist Natalie Spooner.