Kraken hire Jessica Campbell as NHL’s 1st woman assistant coach

SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken have employed Jessica Campbell as an assistant coach, making her the primary woman behind a bench in NHL historical past.

This is the second time Campbell has made historical past. In 2022, the Kraken employed her as an assistant coach for his or her AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the place she turned the primary woman behind a bench within the AHL.

In her time with the Firebirds, Campbell coached the staff’s forwards and power-play unit was instrumental within the staff reaching the Calder Cup Final the place they misplaced to the Hershey Bears for the second consecutive season.

Back in May, the Kraken employed Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma to switch Dave Hakstol, who was fired after three seasons. Bylsma, who beforehand coached the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, mentioned at his introductory information convention that Campbell’s identify was in dialogue for the same function on the NHL stage.

“Obviously now with the last couple of weeks, part of the conversations with [Kraken general manager Ron Francis] about our staff and coaches and what we think the team and the players need,” Bylsma advised ESPN after his information convention. “That is an ongoing process right now … Jessica and [Firebirds assistant Stu Bickel] have been part of those conversations.”

In addition to Campbell, the Kraken additionally employed former longtime Minnesota Wild assistant coach Bob Woods. The Kraken wanted an assistant who might oversee their protection and penalty kill with Jay Leach leaving to affix the Boston Bruins. Leach was earlier the top coach of the Bruins’ AHL affiliate. Woods was with the Wild for six-plus seasons. He applied a defensive construction that ranked thirteenth in objectives allowed per recreation throughout his time with the membership earlier than he was dismissed when additionally they fired Dean Evason final November.

Hiring Bylsma together with Campbell and Woods is available in what has change into an lively offseason for the Kraken. They had been a win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals within the 2022-23 season solely to then miss the playoffs in 2023-24 after ending 17 factors adrift of the ultimate wild-card spot.

It started with them firing Hakstol together with assistant coach Paul McFarland, who oversaw the Kraken’s forwards and power-play unit. The Kraken went from having the NHL’s second-best taking pictures proportion and tied for the fourth-most objectives per recreation in 2022-23 to ending with the fourth-worst in taking pictures proportion and objectives per recreation in 2023-24.

On Monday, they addressed these wants by signing former Florida Panthers puck-moving defenseman Brandon Montour to a seven-year contract price $7.142 million yearly whereas giving former Vegas Golden Knights middle Chandler Stephenson a seven-year deal price $6.25 million yearly.

They be part of a bunch that options veterans such as Oliver Bjorkstrand, Andre Burakovsky, Vince Dunn, Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz along with homegrown abilities in Matty Beniers, Ryker Evans and Tye Kartye.

Evans and Kartye are among the many gamers who labored with Campbell throughout her time within the AHL. Her first season noticed the Firebirds end third within the AHL with 257 objectives whereas their power-play unit was 14th. Her second season noticed the Firebirds lead the league with 252 objectives whereas their power-play unit as soon as once more completed 14th.

Firebirds director of enterprise and hockey operations Troy Bodie told ESPN last year that Campbell made an influence with gamers throughout her first season.

He mentioned Campbell “really took it upon herself” to have significant conversations with gamers. He additionally mentioned that Campbell typically spent vital time with gamers earlier than and practices in numerous areas they wished to develop.

“Before practices, she’d have half-hour skill sessions that would have 90% participation,” Bodie mentioned. “I was shocked because there’s usually never that much participation for an optional skills practice.”

Campbell performed 4 seasons at Cornell, the place she captained the Big Red in her senior 12 months. She performed skilled in Canada for 3 seasons and for one season in Sweden. Her teaching profession began in 2017-18, when she was an assistant coach for the Pursuit of Excellence hockey academy earlier than finally spending a 12 months as a skating coach in Sweden.

In 2021-22, she was an assistant coach and a expertise coach for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers within the Deutsche Eishockey League in Germany. She was additionally an assistant for Germany on the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championship, the place she turned the primary woman on the teaching employees of a males’s nationwide staff.

“She has an interesting background not only with skating, but skill development,” Francis mentioned after Bylsma’s information convention. “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’s on helping improve their skating, their skill development and, as Dan said, both her and Stu Bickel have been a big part of their success down there.”