Who is Jessica Campbell? Meet the Kraken’s new assistant coach, the first woman to hold a full-time coaching position in the NHL

The Kraken made their first coaching change in franchise history during the 2024 NHL offseason, but that wasn’t the only reason it was historic.

While Seattle brought in Dan Bylsma to replace Dave Hakstol, it was the team’s choice of Jessica Campbell as one of its assistant coaches that raised eyebrows around the NHL.

Campbell enjoyed a quality decade-long career as a hockey player before making her foray into coaching in 2017. She has since become a rising star and will now have the chance to prove herself on the Kraken bench.

Here’s what you need to know about Campbell’s hiring by the Kraken and her playing career.

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Who is Jessica Campbell?

Jessica Campbell is a 32-year-old assistant coach hired by the Kraken after a successful stint as an assistant coach with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. She will be the first woman to hold a full-time assistant coaching position in NHL history.

Campbell played high-level hockey for 10 years, from 2010 to 2020. She shined at Cornell, helping the Big Red to the Frozen Four, and did enough to earn a spot on Team Canada’s international program.

Campbell led Canada’s under-18 team to gold at the 2010 world championships. She was then part of Canada’s silver medal-winning team in 2015, which finished second at the world championships in Sweden.

In 2017, Campbell retired from the national team and turned to a coaching career. She worked with players like Tyson Jost, Joel Edmundson and Natalie Spooner on their power skating abilities, and she was eventually hired by the Firebirds in 2022.

Two years later, Campbell has already proven she deserves an NHL shot with her performance off the bench. And Seattle’s management team seems very confident in her potential.

“She has a great background not only in skating but in skill development,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said of Campbell during a press conference, according to ESPN. “That’s been a big part of what they’ve been able to do with Coachella Valley. She runs the power play, works with the forwards and works with everybody to help them improve their skating, their skill development and, as Dan said, her and Stu Bickel have been a big part of their success there.”

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Jessica Campbell’s Teams

Campbell has played for three teams in addition to the Canadian national team. These teams are:

• Cornell Big Reds (NCAA, 2010-14)
• Calgary Inferno (CWHL, 2014-2017)
• Malmö Redhawks (Damettan, 2019-20)

Campbell also coached four teams, including the Redhawks, for whom she played. Below is a look at her coaching relationships.

• Coachella Valley Firebirds
• Germany Team
• The Ice Tigers of Nuremberg
• Malmö Redhawks

The Kraken will now be added to that list and will mark Campbell’s most impressive position to date.

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Jessica Campbell Hockey Statistics

Campbell played 197 games in total during her time in the NCAA and CWHL. She recorded 150 points, with exactly 75 goals and 75 assists.

Campbell scored a career-best 16 goals during the 2012-13 NCAA season with Cornell. She then scored a career-high 36 points during her senior year.

Below is a breakdown of his academic and professional statistics.

Season	Team	Games	Goals	Aids	Points
2010-11	Cornell’s Big Red	31	11	15	26
2011-12	Cornell’s Big Red	33	5	9	14
2012-13	Cornell’s Big Red	34	16	8	24
2013-14	Cornell’s Big Red	33	14	22	36
2014-15	Calgary Hell	21	12	5	17
2015-16	Calgary Hell	22	ten	ten	20
2016-17	Calgary Hell	20	7	6	13
2019-20	Malmö Redhawks	5	ten	2	12
Total	—	197	75	75	150

The Kraken are hoping Campbell’s solid goal-scoring ability can benefit some of their role players. The Firebirds scored an AHL-leading 252 goals during last year’s regular season. If she can help bring some of that production to the Kraken, they could be poised to make their longest playoff run in franchise history.

Add to that the fact that Campbell helped the Firebirds reach the Calder Cup final – an event they lost 4-2 to Hershey – and it’s easy to see why the Kraken liked him enough to hire him full-time.