Assistant coach Jessica Campbell to depart Kraken, pursue other NHL opportunities

Jessica Campbell, the NHL’s first female assistant coach, will leave the Seattle Kraken to pursue other NHL coaching opportunities, the team announced Thursday.

“As Jessica’s current contract expires, she has expressed her desire to explore other coaching roles across the League and we support her in this process,” Kraken GM and executive vice president Jason Botterill said in a statement. “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. We respect her decision and believe strongly in her as a coach in this league.”

In an Instagram story post, Campbell wrote she was “thankful for this city, organization and our fans. You mean so much to me.”

Campbell joined the Kraken’s coaching staff in July 2024, back when Dan Bylsma was the team’s head coach. Campbell worked her way up from an assistant coaching role with the Kraken’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley, where she was hired in 2022.

Previously, Campbell worked as a power skating coach for NHL clients including Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook and Luke Schenn. The Saskatchewan native then became a skating coach for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga and earned an assistant coach role with the German national team at the men’s world championships in May 2022. Her stint with the German national team drew Bylsma’s attention, leading her to join the Kraken’s AHL team.

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Before coaching, Campbell played for the Calgary Inferno of the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League and won a Clarkson Cup championship in 2016. She spent the 2019-20 season with the Malmö Redhawks of the Damettan, a second-tier Swedish women’s hockey league.

Campbell also represented Canada on numerous occasions, winning a silver medal at the 2015 World Championship and a gold and silver medal at the 4 Nations Cup in 2014 and 2015, respectively.