Coachella Valley Firebirds assistant coach Jessica Campbell talks to Firebirds forward Cameron Hughes (19) during practice at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The Seattle Kraken hired Jessica Campbell as the NHL’s first full-time female assistant coach on Wednesday.
Campbell, 31, was added to new head coach Dan Bylsma’s staff along with fellow assistant Bob Woods.
Campbell was an assistant on Bylsma’s staff with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for the past two seasons.
“Jessica and I have spent the last two years coaching in Coachella Valley,” Bylsma said. “I have confidence in what she can do for our team and bring to the players. I’ve seen her build strong relationships with prospects like Tye Kartye, Shane Wright and Ryker Evans.
“She has the ability to communicate with players about their game and what they bring to a team. She’s demonstrated that over the last two seasons, not just with Tye Kartye and others, but also with (veterans) John Hayden and Max McCormick, among others. That’s why she’s such an attractive candidate and why she’s joining our team.”
The Firebirds have reached the AHL Calder Cup Final in each of the last two seasons, losing both times to the Hershey Bears in seven games in 2023 and six games in 2024.
As Germany’s assistant coach in 2022, Campbell became the first woman to join the coaching staff at the IIHF Men’s World Championship. She served as an assistant in Nuremberg, Germany in 2021-22.
A Saskatchewan native, Campbell played college hockey at Cornell and won gold medals with Canada at the 2010 World Under-18 Championship and the 2014 4 Nations Cup. Campbell played professionally in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League with the Calgary Inferno before becoming a coach in 2017.
Campbell and Woods, 56, join a staff that includes returning assistant coach Dave Lowry and goaltending coach Steve Briere.
–Field level media
