Jessica Campbell and the Seattle Kraken created NHL history on Wednesday afternoon as Campbell was named to an assistant coaching position on Head Coach Dan Bylsma’s staff for the 2024-25 season. Campbell started as a skating coach after her playing career where she assisted several NHL players.
After two years in the AHL with Dan Bylsma and Coachella Valley, Campbell is now the answer to a very important trivia question. Who was the first female coach on an NHL coaching staff? Jessica Campbell for the Seattle Kraken in 2024.
Jessica Campbell Started Coaching Career in 2022
Following her retirement from the Canadian National team in 2017, Campbell started working with hockey players including Stanley Cup Champion Joel Edmundson through the JC Powerskating. After creating some waves in the industry with her coaching work at JCP, Jessica Campbell landed an opportunity to work for the German National Team.
Humbled following an incredible achievement, Campbell did her best to direct some of the attention to the many other female staffers in the NHL sphere:
“Though I am honored to be the first, I don’t want to be the only one, and I honestly don’t feel like I’m the only one in this organization. That’s also a very special feeling to be part of the Seattle Kraken organization and the staff and to stand by all the other remarkable women in this League that are maybe not behind the benches. But there’s a long list of incredible women that are doing phenomenal jobs, here in management, scouting, player development. I’m just excited to do my part now behind the bench.”
Shane Wright’s Improvement Aided by J.C.
Shane Wright was selected as a highly-touted first-rounder at 4th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. While some expected the “Connor Bedard” experience where a prospect dominates from the get-go, Wright’s journey to the NHL has more of a winding path between Seattle and California. Head Coach Dan Bylsma called out his new assistant coach for improving the skills of the high draft pick:
“Over the last two years the work with Tye Kartye and Shane Wright and Ryker Evans has clearly been evident,” Bylsma said. “She’s been able to develop those players, develop them as people and, most importantly, as hockey players. Jess is going to be working with the forwards and I am super excited about that.”
In the two years that have passed since he was drafted, Wright has developed under the tutelage of the Coachella Valley coaching staff which included Jessica Campbell. Wright scored one goal in his first eight games in the NHL. In 2024, Shane returned to the NHL for the same number of games, however, this time he scored four times increasing his time on ice from 8:29 per game to 13:32 per game. This showcased that the coaching regime in Seattle trusted him more due to his play on the ice.
Campbell Milestone AHL Coaching Chance in 2022
Seattle’s General Manager Ron Francis took the advice of a former teammate who coached alongside Jessica Campbell with the German National Team. Francis offered Campbell the chance to work in the American Hockey League in 2002 by adding her to Bylsma’s staff. Coachella Valley made back-to-back appearances in the AHL Finals losing to Hershey in both seasons. Despite the championship disappointment, Francis is excited to see Campbell in action at the NHL level as he did over the last few years in the “A”:
“I’ve had the opportunity to watch her work the last couple years,” Francis said. “Probably not something she liked, but I sat in some power-play meetings that she was presenting, just to kind of get a sense of how it was going. And, you know, she’s got a real good knowledge of the game, a real good skill set in the development part as well. So I think the staff complements each other. And I think Dan’s done a good job putting it all together. We’re excited to see what it holds for us going forward.”
The Seattle Kraken is scheduled to open the 2024-25 NHL Regular season action with a home game at Climate Pledge Arena against the St. Louis Blues on October 8, 2024, when Jessica Campbell will officially become the first female coach during a regular season NHL game.
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