“When I called home, I immediately started crying”: Jessica Campbell opens up about her reaction to being named Seatlle Kraken's assistant coach

Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell made a guest appearance on Wednesday's episode of the Never Offside Podcast with Julie and Cat. During the segment, she opened up on her reaction after she got to learn of her appointment as Seattle assistant coach.

When Jessica received the call about her new job, she said the first thing she did was call her parents. It wasn’t public news yet, but Seattle Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma had already informed her that the job was hers.

“But when I called home, I just immediately started crying—happy tears,” Campbell said. “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.”

“It was a surreal moment because I had been working toward this for so long,” she added.

She has had a long history in hockey. She played for Cornell University in college, then joined the Calgary Inferno in the CWHL where she won the Clarkson Cup in 2016. Internationally, she captained Canada’s U18 team to gold in 2010 and won silver at the 2015 Women’s World Championship.

After retiring in 2017, Jessica started coaching and worked with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers and Germany’s men’s team before joining the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. In 2024, she became the first female coach in NHL history.

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Jessica Campbell opens up on how ‘taxing’ the grind of the AHL was

During the same podcast, Jessica Campbell mentioned how the grind of coaching in the AHL had been relentless as they had back-to-back long playoff runs in the past two seasons.

The packed schedule meant she rarely had a real offseason and she shared how emotionally draining it all was.

“In this league, that’s a good thing, but it’s also taxing—physically, emotionally, and mentally,” Campbell said. “I never had much time to go home and see my family. Those windows were really small, and you learn to cherish the moments you do get.”

“When I got the news, I was in Seattle at development camp, fully in my AHL role. Then, overnight, I went from being an AHL coach to an NHL coach,” she added.

Jessica Campbell said it was a whirlwind of emotions, tears, celebrations and the reality sinking in. She expressed how grateful she was that so many friends and family could be part of the journey.