NHL history was made on Tuesday, when Jessica Campbell stood behind the Seattle Kraken roster on the bench, marking her first game as an assistant coach for the team.
Campbell is the first woman to have a full-time coaching role for an NHL franchise and is one of the first across American sports, following in the footsteps of Becky Hammon.
Campbell has only been coaching since 2017 and in the American hockey pyramid since 2022.
It was two years ago that Campbell was named an 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 top minor-league affiliate of the Kraken.
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 also now the head coach of the Kraken and promoted Campbell to make the jump from the AHL to the NHL.
The Kraken did lose their first game with Campbell on the bench, 3-2, to the St. Louis Blues.
Seattle had a 2-0 lead 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 American hockey before being hired at Coachella Valley, having played collegiately at Cornell.
She was also a part of two Canadian women’s under-18 national teams, earning a silver medal in 2009 and gold in 2010.
The Kraken return to action on Saturday with a game at the Minnesota Wild.
