"FaceTime my grandmother every game day": Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell reveals her heartwarming pre-game routine

Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell has a special pre-game routine. She FaceTimes her grandmother before every game. On October 8, Campbell became the first woman to coach an NHL game in the U.S. She was behind the bench when the Kraken played their season opener against the St. Louis Blues. Seattle lost 3-2, but it was still a historic moment.

Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of Never Offside with Julie Petry & Cat Toffoli, Campbell shared her special pregame routine.

"I FaceTime my grandmother every game day. That’s my way to connect with my grandmother," Campbell said. "She watches all the games, and it’s been a kind of a special game day routine for me, and if I don’t call her, I feel like, oh no, we’re going to lose."

She also said she never used to be superstitious, but now considers herself one.

"And I never used to be superstitious, now I just call myself superstitious because I’m not on the goalie level yet or anything," Campbell said.

Campbell became the first full-time female assistant coach behind an NHL bench in July. When she got the call, she cried happy tears.

"It was a surreal moment because I had been working toward this for so long," Campbell said. "But when I called home, I just immediately started crying—happy tears. My parents thought something was wrong and instantly went into parent-protect mode, asking, ‘Are you okay?’ Of course, I was okay, and pretty quickly, we were all crying."

Before the NHL, Jessica Campbell coached in the AHL.

Kraken is struggling in Jessica Campbell's first NHL season

The Kraken have struggled in Jessica Campbell’s first season as assistant coach. They are seventh in the Pacific Division with 66 points. This is worse than their 2022-23 season when they made the playoffs with 100 points. That year, they beat Colorado in the first round but lost to Dallas in Game 7.

This season, they are scoring 2.99 goals per game and allowing 3.24 goals. Jared McCann leads the team with 49 points, while Jaden Schwartz has 21 goals. Compared to Vegas (94 points), Los Angeles (89), and Edmonton (87), Seattle is far behind.

They are 17 points behind the St. Louis Blues, who are holding the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.