Seattle Kraken’s Jessica Campbell makes history as first full-time female coach in NHL
NHL history was made Tuesday as Jessica Campbell found herself on the bench behind the Seattle Kraken roster, marking her first game as an assistant coach for the team.
Campbell is the first woman to serve in a full-time coaching role for an NHL franchise and is one of the first in American sports to follow in the footsteps of Becky Hammon.
Campbell has only been coaching in the American hockey pyramid since 2017 and since 2022.
It was two years ago that Campbell was named assistant coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, under Dan Bylsma.
She was also the first female coach in the American Hockey League in Coachella Valley, the Kraken’s top minor league affiliate.
Jessica Campbell made NHL history on Tuesday with her first game as a Kraken assistant
Campbell was promoted from the AHL bench to an NHL staff alongside Dan Bylsma in Seattle
Bylsma is now also the head coach of the Kraken and promoted Campbell to make the jump from the AHL to the NHL.
The Kraken lost their first game with Campbell on the bench 3-2 to the St. Louis Blues.
Seattle led 2-0 until midway through the second period, when St. Louis scored three goals in less than two minutes.
The 32-year-old Campbell was no stranger to USA Hockey before being hired by Coachella Valley after playing collegiately at Cornell.
She was also a member of two Canadian under-18 women’s national teams, earning a silver medal in 2009 and gold in 2010.
The Kraken are back in action on Saturday with a matchup at the Minnesota Wild.