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 spent the last two years coaching in Coachella Valley,” Bylsma said. “I’m confident of what she can do for our staff and bring to the players. I watched her build strong relationships with prospects such as Tye Kartye, Shane Wright and Ryker Evans.
“She has the ability to relate to players about their games and what they bring to a team. She’s demonstrated that over the last two seasons, not just with Tye Kartye and the others, but (veteran leaders) John Hayden and Max McCormick, among others. That’s why she is such an appealing candidate and why she’s joining our staff.”
The Firebirds reached the AHL’s Calder Cup Final in each of the past two seasons, losing both times to the Hershey Bears in seven games in 2023 and six games in 2024.
As an assistant coach for Germany in 2022, Campbell broke ground as the first woman on a coaching staff at the IIHF Men’s World Championship. She was an assistant with Nurnberg in Germany in 2021-22.
The Saskatchewan native played college hockey at Cornell and won gold medals with Canada at the World U18 Championship in 2010 and the 4 Nations Cup in 2014. Campbell played professionally in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League with the Calgary Inferno before going into coaching in 2017.
Campbell and Woods, 56, join a staff that includes returning assistant coach Dave Lowry and goaltending coach Steve Briere.
–Field Level Media
