Las Campeonas

In 2024, Jessica Campbell became the subject of discussions when she became the very first full-time female assistant coach in the history of the National Hockey League.

“I never knew it was possible, and so it’s really special to know that by just showing up and doing what I love everyday, and being afforded the opportunity to get to do what I love everyday, it also can create meaningful change for young girls, but also says something to young boys too.” — says Jessica about her feelings on becoming the first ever full-time female assistant coach in the NHL.

However, long before this sensational success, Campbell had had an extensive professional background that brought her to the point she is at in the present.

Jessica Campbell was born in 1992 in a small Canadian town called Saskatchewan. She is the youngest of four in the family and all of her siblings were deeply involved in hockey. In 2007, she played on a team that consisted mostly of male athletes and was coached by her mother, Monique Campbell.

However, long before this sensational success, Campbell had had an extensive professional background that brought her to the point she is at in the present.

Jessica Campbell was born in 1992 in a small Canadian town called Saskatchewan. She is the youngest of four in the family and all of her siblings were deeply involved in hockey. In 2007, she played on a team that consisted mostly of male athletes and was coached by her mother, Monique Campbell.

Before reaching the NHL as a coach, Campbell built a diverse career. She played collegiate hockey at Cornell University from 2010 to 2014, serving as team captain in her senior year, before beginning her professional career with the Calgary Inferno. On the international stage, she represented Canada in several tournaments, including the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship in 2009 and 2010 and the IIHF Women’s World Championship in 2015.

After transitioning into coaching, Campbell continued to gain experience across different leagues and countries. She worked with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga during the 2021–22 season and later on, she joined the coaching staff of the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the American Hockey League. There, she assisted the team lead the league in goals during the 2023–24 season and reach the Calder Cup Finals in two consecutive years. Campbell also took on a position of an assistant coach for Germany men’s national ice hockey team at the 2022 IIHF World Championship.

After all, Campbell became part of the coaching staff of the Seattle Kraken in July 2024.

During a conversation with an interviewer, the team’s head coach Dan Bylsma — the one who invited and eventually hired Jessica — was asked the following question: How far away do you think we are in the National Hockey League from a female being a head coach?

“Ten years ago I was like, “well who would it be,” now the answer to the question is I know who it could be, there are more and more women in the game, and I think there is no question that eventually it will happen.”

By the end of the twentieth century, women could not even think about competing on the same level as men’s teams, but today history is being made, as a powerful and hardworking woman coaches the best players of the US men’s national team.