Back in 2020, when everything paused and athletes had no place to train, Jessica Campbell, former forward for the Canadian women’s national team, kept things rolling in Kelowna, B.C. She ran small skills sessions through her power skating business. And with the NHL season suspended, Canadian player Damon Severson and a few teammates joined her sessions to prep for the league’s return, as she luckily had access to ice.

Campbell’s JC Power Skating business was still new, having launched in 2019, a few years after her time with Team Canada ended. But come spring 2020, things really started taking off. Her sessions? Super fast and intense, designed to feel like real game action to keep players sharp. Eventually, her business became famous, and big names like Luke Schenn, Tyson Jost, Brent Seabrook, and Shea Weber started coming up to train. At that point, Campbell was mostly thinking about becoming an NHL skating coach, but her story was about to take a different turn.

Jessica Campbell’s game-changing twist

Fast forward to today, and Jessica Campbell has flipped the script! She went from dreaming of being an NHL skating coach to making history as the first-ever female assistant coach in the NHL! There she was, confidently taking charge behind the bench as the Seattle Kraken competed against the St. Louis Blues at the lively Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle this past Tuesday. On October 8, ESPN hopped onto X to drop a clip from the big game, with a caption that read, “Jessica Campbell makes history by being the first woman to coach in the NHL! @SeattleKraken.”

Even though the St. Louis Blues snagged a 3-2 win, it was still a huge moment for the Seattle Kraken!  So, how did Jessica go from being an NHL skating coach to coaching in the NHL? Well, back in the spring, when she had ice time, more and more NHL players started showing up at her sessions. She had the opportunity to work closely with Brent Seabrook, who was recovering from several surgeries during the 2019-20 season. That was when things really began to fall into place for her.

By May 2022, Jessica Campbell made history as the first woman to serve as a coach at the men’s world championships, taking on the role of assistant for the German national team. Just a few months later, she became the first woman to serve as a coach in the entire American Hockey League (AHL) with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the minor league affiliate of the Seattle Kraken. What a wild journey, going from being a player to now coaching in the NHL when she never even saw it coming!

Jessica Campbell’s journey from player to coach

Jessica Campbell’s hockey journey has been nothing short of remarkable. After playing at an elite level from 2010 to 2020, including a standout career at Cornell, where she captained the Big Red and led them to the Frozen Four, she transitioned into coaching. Campbell played professionally in Canada for three seasons and one season in Sweden before hanging up her skates in 2017.

She immediately dove into coaching, working with talents like Tyson Jost and Natalie Spooner, and serving as an assistant at the Pursuit of Excellence hockey academy. Her coaching path took her to Sweden and then to the Nurnberg Ice Tigers in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey League, where she made history as the first woman to coach a men’s national team at the IIHF Men’s World Championship. In 2022, she joined the Coachella Valley Firebirds as the first woman to coach in the AHL.

Now she’s made it to the big leagues with the Seattle Kraken, and the chatter really kicked off when Dan Bylsma, after taking the head coaching job, brought Jessica Campbell up from the Coachella Valley Firebirds, making history with this power move! Bylsma knew what was up, and her promotion was hailed as a game-changer in a sport that doesn’t always embrace change easily.

At just 32, Jessica Campbell has already made waves as one of Bylsma’s top assistants. Kraken general manager Ron Francis said during a news conference, per ESPN, “She has an interesting background not only with skating, but skill development. 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 on helping improve their skating, their skill development.” It’s a huge step forward for hockey, and Jessica Campbell’s the trailblazer leading the charge.