Jessica Campbell Makes History as NHL’s First Female Assistant Coach with Seattle Kraken – What This Means for Hockey’s Future

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[{"selector":"#anim-66f97fae-43f5-4b84-94b3-06317269298f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2e7c73c7-713a-4f05-9380-5f658ae3688a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2c495ed6-72b9-4dc3-a4e8-89ffb9cc6b26","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 195.79261%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2ef11d10-1a90-40ee-b9ed-ff7564077c08","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.18987%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-98184b56-6a67-4c15-94c0-45e19d813c70","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6f74d92e-82a6-4e0e-817e-6714b83fd206","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] The 32-year-old Saskatchewan native played hockey for four years at Cornell University and represented Team Canada, winning silver at the 2015 Women's World Championship and further went on to compete for three seasons in the now-defunct Canadian Women's Hockey League. Photo Source: Google

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Campbell was also the first woman to coach at the Men's World Championship in 2022 for the German national team; thus making her the perfect fir for this new position with the Seattle Krakens.

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[{"selector":"#anim-6ee46865-5a61-4c1b-9321-66e7a17b4a66","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7131d848-a09f-431e-88d0-3518d0f22cf4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-55a6d2c7-5cda-4651-ba34-fbbe97332a3e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -99.52592%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-70ea29f2-d418-44d9-9c10-d632d1735d58","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.77988%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d2841e3d-f3c3-4f3b-a413-5e9a09287acc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-634ab760-7c81-471b-8f4f-94dbe9fdd841","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] The Seattle Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma and Campbell have previously had a professional relationship in Coachella Valley; he stated, "We're going to see a woman behind the bench for the first time in the National Hockey League and it's monumental. But the (goal) was to get the best coach — and it happened to be Jessica Campbell. Photo Source: Google

Campbell duties as the assistant coach for the Seattle Krakens is to work with the forwards on skill development, contribute to the team's power play strategy and to collaborate with assistant coach Bob Woods.

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Lindsay Pennal, executive director of the NHL Coaches' Association, stated "I envision a world where it's not newsworthy that Jess is hired because she's a woman. It's just newsworthy because a team hired a new coach, period."

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The Seattle Kraken are entering their fourth NHL season and have trained hard to come back from a disappointing 2023-24 campaign.

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