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It's official: Jessica Campbell becomes the first female NHL coach as she ed the Seattle Kraken after a successful career as a player, but who is the Canadian who made her debut on October 8?
At the age of 32, the Saskatchewan native is one of the younger coaches in the league but whilst she lacks experienced compared to the senior heads around her, she isn't shy of talent after an impressive playing career.
Through the NCAA and Canadian Women's Hockey League, Campbell recorded a total of 75 goals, 75 assists and 150 points through 194 games, despite missing three seasons between 2017-2019.
So she knows what she's doing when it comes to the puck and ice, and actually has seven ears' of experience as she kicked off her coaching career shortly after retiring from the Canadian national team in 2017.
And her career took a big step up in 2022, setting her on the trajectory to the current day, when she was appointed as the assistant coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Firebirds are the top of the Kraken, meaning she became the first full-time female coach in the American Hockey League.
Spending two years in the role, the Firebirds won the conference titles in 2023 and 2024 and won the division title in 2024 too, earning her enough praise and attention to make the step up to the NHL with the Kraken.
Away from the ice, she is a brand ambassador for the Can-i Wellness oral spray supplements and started in the sixth season of Battle of the Blades, which pits hockey players and figure skaters against each other to compete for money to go to charities.
Kraken suffer opening night loss
Whilst Campbell sets a new benchmark by becoming the first female coach in the NHL, the season opener didn't play out as she would have hoped as the Kraken were defeated 3-2 by the St Louis Blues on October 8.
The first and third periods were goalless at the Climate Pledge Arena but the game exploded into life in the second, seeing all five goals as the Kraken lost out narrowly and could not go on to make amends.