Jessica Campbell has broken glass ceilings on her way to becoming an assistant coach of the Seattle Kraken NHL team.
NHL history was made in the season opener between Seattle and St. Louis when Jessica Campbell served as the Kraken’s assistant coach in the match against the Blues. Campbell, 32, is the first woman to work as an assistant coach for an NHL team during games.
– The children who will be in their first hockey game tomorrow know that there can be a female coach behind the bench. It’s really important to me, Campbell said right after the historic match.
The first NHL game behind the Seattle Kraken bench was a great and emotional experience.
– This was like my “hockey wedding day”. But I hope that everything was just the beginning of a long career in the NHL. What rewards me every day is knowing that I’m part of something much bigger than myself, my work and coaching, Campbell reflected.
Serves as Kraken’s head coach Dan Bylsma. According to Bylsma, Campbell is a skilled and committed player developer.
The tattoos refer to Finland and Sweden
Canadian Campbell played in Canada and also in Sweden. He became a coach in 2017. Before joining Seattle’s NHL team, Campbell worked for two seasons as an assistant coach for Kraken’s farm team in the AHL.
Campbell reveals NHL website in an interview about his surprising connection to Finland. He has a tattoo on his right hand that reads “yötimäsä” in Finnish.
The tattoo dates back to 2021-2022, when Campbell was part of the German national team’s coaching team. Served as Germany’s head coach Toni Söderholm.
Campbell has acquired another tattoo depicting the Swedish crown. This tattoo refers to the time when he worked in 2020-2021 as a skating coach in Malmö.
Insults and hurtful questions
Campbell has worked as a glass ceiling breaker and has also had to experience belittling. At the spring 2022 World Championships in Helsinki, Campbell received a lot of media attention, but also got to answer some very special questions.
In particular, the question of a female reporter from a Slovakian TV group made Campbell angry.
– What is it like to be in the team when you are a beautiful woman and the team is full of handsome men? Maybe you like certain men more than others, the reporter hinted.
– Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Campbell was surprised.
Read also: The journalist’s outrageous insinuation shocked the female coach who made the history of the World Cup in hockey: “Excuse me, what are you really trying to say?”
Söderholm came out in support and stressed that the decision to include Campbell in the German coaching team was only and only a hockey-related decision.
A long way has come from the awkward moments of the World Cup in Helsinki to today. Now Campbell is fully involved in the world’s toughest hockey league, the NHL.