NHL’s first female assistant coach has Okanagan roots

On July 3, the Seattle Kraken announced the hiring of Jessica Campbell as an assistant coach, making her the first female in the history of the league appointed to the position.

Campbell joined the Kraken’s organization two years ago as an assistant coach for their affiliate team, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, becoming the first woman to coach in the American Hockey League.

But before joining the Kraken's organization, Campbell previously spent time in the Okanagan Valley.

HISTORY MADE👏

Jessica Campbell joins the @SeattleKraken as an assistant head coach, making her the first woman to be named an assistant, associate, or head coach in @NHL history. pic.twitter.com/AaqGikZv63

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) July 3, 2024

Campbell played two seasons in the Pursuit of Excellence (POE) program (now known as the Rink Hockey Academy (RHA) Kelowna).

In her time with POE, she notched 174 points in 71 games before going on to spend four years playing at Cornell University.

She then made the jump to the Canadian Women’s Hockey League with the Calgary Inferno, accumulating 50 points in 63 games.

Following her playing career, which included a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2015 Women’s World Championships, Campbell began coaching.

Campbell joined RHA Kelowna as an assistant coach in 2017/18, where she would spend two seasons with the U18 female prep team.

She then joined the Okanagan Hockey Academy in the 2019/20 season as an assistant coach for their U18 prep female team.

The Saskatchewan product then made her way to Europe to coach for a couple of seasons, returning to North America for the 2022/23 season to coach the Firebirds.