The Kraken still have one spot to fill after promoting Dan Bylsma from AHL Coachella Valley to be their next head coach. When they let go of Dave Hakstol last month, the team also announced that assistant coach Paul McFarland would not be returning. During his introductory news conference, Bylsma said the organization is considering promoting Jessica Campbell, who serves on his AHL staff, for the role, via ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark.
If hired for the role, Campbell would be the first woman to serve as a full-time assistant coach in the NHL. As a player, she won the silver medal with Canada at the 2015 World Championship, along with a four-year career at Cornell University and a three-year stint professional with the Calgary Inferno of the defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League. After retiring in 2020, the 31-year-old spent a handful of seasons coaching in Europe before being named to Bylsma’s staff in Coachella Valley ahead of the 2022-23 season.
It wouldn’t be her first time serving on the staff of a top-level men’s professional league team, though. She served as the skating coach for the Swedish Hockey League’s Malmö Redhawks in 2020-21 and an assistant for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in 2021-22. When tabbed to the inaugural Coachella Valley coaching staff two years ago, she also became the first woman to be a full-time assistant at the AHL level.
If replacing McFarland’s role directly, Campbell would assume control of the Kraken’s power play, which clicked at just 18.4% — 28th in the league — during his three-year tenure. The power play has also been her purview in the AHL, finishing roughly league average (~20%) in both seasons.
Both Bylsma's and Campbell’s seasons are still ongoing in Coachella Valley. The Firebirds are back in the Western Conference Final of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the second year in a row.
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