Jessica Campbell has been an assistant coach on the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds, which made the Calder Cup final in two straight years. She's now joining the Seattle Kraken.
Jessica CampbellJessica Campbell is now an NHL assistant coach.
The Seattle Kraken announced that Campbell will join coach Dan Bylsma's staff after being promoted to the NHL squad from the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds. Campbell will become the first woman to be named a full-time assistant, associate or head coach in NHL history.
Bob Woods is also joining the Kraken as an assistant coach, while assistant Dave Lowry and goalie coach Steve Briere will return to the bench next season.
Campbell already became the first woman to be an assistant coach in the AHL when she joined Bylsma's staff on the inaugural 2022-23 Firebirds season. The Firebirds made it to the Calder Cup final in their first year, falling just one goal short of winning it all, with a Game 7 overtime loss to the Hershey Bears. Coachella Valley then rematched the Bears in the 2024 final, with the Bears winning in six games.
Bylsma said Campbell demonstrated why she was such an appealing candidate to join his coaching staff on the Kraken after the past two years.
“I’m confident of what she can do for our staff and bring to the players," Bylsma said in a news release. "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."
Kartye graduated to the NHL in 2023-24 and had 20 points in 77 games, while Evans split the season between the NHL and AHL, recording nine points in 36 games as an up-and-coming young defenseman. Wright, meanwhile, is one of Seattle's top prospects who had 47 points in 59 games for the Firebirds and 13 points in 12 playoff games.
Campbell, 32, won a gold medal captaining Team Canada at the Women's Under-18 World Championship in 2010, along with a silver in 2009. She played four years at Cornell University, including being the captain in her senior year, and she spent three seasons with the Calgary Inferno of the former CWHL, winning the Clarkson Cup in 2016. Campbell was also on Canada's World Championship squad in 2015 and the Malmo Redhawks in Sweden's Div. 1 women's league in 2019-20.
Campbell was an assistant coach at prep schools for three seasons, as well as a skating coach in Malmo in 2020-21. Her coaching journey also included the Nurnberg Ice Tigers in the men's Deutsche Eishockey League and Germany's World Championship team before joining the Firebirds.
In 2023-24, Campbell was part of the NHL Coaches Association's Female Coaches Program that connected NHL teams with women looking to develop their skills in the coaching landscape. With that, she was on the bench for a Kraken pre-season game last year. Kori Cheverie, coach of the PWHL's Montreal team, also coached last pre-season for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Campbell, Bylsma and the rest of the Kraken's coaching staff have a big opportunity to push the team into the playoffs for the second time in franchise history after falling 17 points short this past season. The Kraken also added defenseman Brandon Montour and forward Chandler Stephenson in free agency.
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