Kraken’s Jessica Campbell To Explore Options This Summer
The Seattle Kraken could have a bench spot to fill this summer. Assistant coach Jessica Campbell is set to be a free agent for the first time since being promoted to the NHL in 2024. She is expected to take the chance to explore other options around the league, per a press release from Kraken general manager Jason Botterill. Botterill said:
Jessica has been an important member of our coaching staff for the past four years, demonstrating deep knowledge and a unique ability to connect with, and develop, players.
While this could likely result in Campbell moving on from the Pacific Northwest, it doesn’t appear Seattle has closed the door to bringing Campbell back next season, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Kaplan adds that Campbell has generated interest from across the NHL.
Campbell became the first woman to fill a full-time, assistant coach role in the NHL. She accomplished the same feat in the AHL when she joined Dan Bylsma‘s staff on the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022. Campbell already had an extensive hockey resume at the time, with one World Championship silver medal, three NCAA conference championships, and one season as an assistant coach for the DEL’s Nurnberg Ice Tigers, part of Germany’s top pro league, under her belt. Coachella Valley raced to the Calder Cup Finals in both seasons under Bylsma and Campbell’s reign, though they lost to the Hershey Bears both times.
A pair of appearances in the championship series was still enough to earn Bylsma and Campbell a promotion to the NHL. It was a reunion for Bylsma, who spent seven seasons as an NHL head coach between 2009 and 2017. Unfortunately, that reunion quickly turned sour, with Bylsma being dismissed after leading Seattle to a 35-41-6 record and bottom-12 finish in both goals-scored and goals-against in the 2024-25 season. The Kraken opted to retain Campbell despite firing their top coach, a bode of confidence in the former professional skills coach.
Now one season later, the Kraken are continuing to speak praise towards Campbell’s ability to lead at the top level. She could be an intriguing candidate for teams looking to bring a bit more finesse to their lineup. The Columbus Blue Jackets recently fired two assistant coaches, opening the door for the NHL’s oldest head coach, Rick Bowness, to hire his own bench staff. The New York Islanders also recently parted with head coach Patrick Roy, in favor of free agent Peter DeBoer. Both clubs could use a jolt of offense after impressive seasons that still fell short of the postseason. Campbell, once a dynamic and intelligent playmaker at Cornell University and for Sweden’s SDHL Malmo Redhawks, could bring that jolt with an extra focus on developing some of the club’s burgeoning stars.
Kraken Promote Jessica Campbell To Assistant Coach, Hire Bob Woods
July 3: Seattle has officially promoted Campbell, per Clark. She’ll indeed be the first woman behind an NHL bench when next season begins. They’ve also hired former Wild assistant Bob Woods in the same role, per a team release. Woods, who had been behind the Minnesota bench since 2017, was fired along with head coach Dean Evason last November.
May 28: The Kraken still have one spot to fill after promoting Dan Bylsma from AHL Coachella Valley to be their next head coach. When they let go of Dave Hakstol last month, the team also announced that assistant coach Paul McFarland would not be returning. During his introductory press conference today, Bylsma said the organization is considering promoting Jessica Campbell, who serves on his AHL staff, for the role (via ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark).
If hired for the role, Campbell would be the first woman to serve as a full-time assistant coach in the NHL. As a player, she won the silver medal with Canada at the 2015 World Championship, along with a four-year career at Cornell University and a three-year stint professional with the Calgary Inferno of the defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League. After retiring in 2020, the 31-year-old spent a handful of seasons coaching in Europe before being named to Bylsma’s staff in Coachella Valley ahead of the 2022-23 season.
It wouldn’t be her first time serving on the staff of a top-level men’s professional league team, though. She served as the skating coach for the Swedish Hockey League’s Malmö Redhawks in 2020-21 and an assistant for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in 2021-22. When tabbed to the inaugural Coachella Valley coaching staff two years ago, she also became the first woman to be a full-time assistant at the AHL level.
If replacing McFarland’s role directly, Campbell would assume control of the Kraken’s power play, which clicked at just 18.4% – 28th in the league – during his three-year tenure. The power play has also been her purview in the AHL, finishing roughly league average (~20%) in both seasons.
Both Bylsma and Campbell’s seasons are still ongoing in Coachella Valley. The Firebirds are back in the Western Conference Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the second year in a row.