Jessica Campbell made National Hockey League history as the first female assistant coach during her first game on Oct. 8.

Campbell was hired earlier this year by the Seattle Kraken’s new head coach, Dan Bylsma, who worked with Campbell during his time as head coach for Coachella Valley Firebirds, Kraken’s affiliate in the American Hockey League. There, Campbell was also the first woman to be named an assistant coach.

“The year ahead is going to be a lot of fun,” Campbell told NHL.com. “Though I am honored to be the first, I don’t want to be the only, and I honestly don’t feel like I’m the only in this organization.”

While in the AHL, Campbell oversaw forwards and power play and with the collaboration with Bylsma, helped lead Coachella Valley to second place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in 2022-2023 season.

“We didn’t hire her because she’s female. We hired her because we thought she’s a good coach,” Ron Francis, the general manager for the Kraken told ESPN. “She has an interesting background not only with skating, but skill development. She runs the power play, works with the forwards, and works with everybody on helping improve their skating, their skill development.”

Campbell grew up in a hockey family and had to join boys’ teams just to play. She reflected on her experience of being the only girl as not always a positive one, noting how she often felt isolated from the rest of the team. However, her love of the game pushed her to continue and allowed her to become as confident as she is today.

“Once I got into the locker room, we were just playing,” Campbell said in an interview. “And growing up with the boys, I think, in a very unique way… it shaped me into who I am now, and it’s made me confident and comfortable in the locker room and to be in this position. Because that was my normal growing up.”

She added that retrospectively, playing on the boys’ team instilled in her a belief that she can do everything that the boys can, a perspective which was instrumental in her adult years.

Before coaching, Campbell played competitively for ten years. She represented Canada at the World Junior Championship in 2009, where the team won silver, and in 2010, where the team won gold and Campbell was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

She then played at Cornell University, where she was the team captain during her senior year and scored a total of 100 career points over four years.

When she graduated, Campbell played three seasons in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and later played in Sweden. Campbell was also an assistant and skills coach in 2021-22 for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in Germany and an assistant coach for Germany at the 2022 World Championships. She started her own coaching business where she worked with other NHL players, before being hired by the Coachella Valley.

Now, as an assistant coach to the Kraken, Campbell hopes to continue playing to her strengths and help the Kraken’s offense and powerplay.

“Guys in Coachella all raved about her and said she was awesome; their power play was really good,” Matty Beniers, Kraken forward said. “They all had great things to say about her… She’s lived up to those expectations so far and when you come to the rink, she’s just another coach.”

Aside from her professional duties, she hopes that her opportunity will serve as an inspiration to other women forging a career in sports.

“Hopefully somebody else will have a door held open for them versus them having to push it open and find ways to unlock it,” she said. “I look at the other women around me and other people in the industry doing their piece and doing a fantastic job of it.”

Campbell’s hiring was a historic moment that she hopes will not only encourage other women to pursue their dreams, but also help hockey, as well as other industries outside of sports, reach a point where women in traditionally male-dominated fields are not perceived as anything other than normal.

When asked what advice she would give to young girls, Campbell recommended to beware of the limitations they can place on themselves. “If you enter into a space and you don’t see anyone that looks like yourself, that doesn’t mean you’re anything lesser than or not capable of,” Campbell said. “That’s what I would remind all the young girls — if you love what you do, if you’re passionate about it, then just chase it fearlessly.”