Jessica Campbell became the first woman to earn an assistant head coaching position in the American Hockey League (AHL) on Tuesday.
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The 30-year-old will assist Dan Bylsma behind the bench of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Seattle Kraken’s training club.
It’s not the first time Campbell has broken a glass ceiling, as she became the first woman to serve as an assistant coach at the Ice Hockey World Championship. When this competition was last presented, she was working for Germany.
Last season, Campbell joined the development program of the Storm of Tri-City, USHL, where she led the women’s hockey program of the Storm of Windy City in Chicago, while also serving as an assistant coach. -leader at the Ice Tigers of Nuremberg, in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Before taking the leap as a coach, the Canadian played three seasons for the Calgary Inferno of the defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League. She also played four seasons for Cornell University.
Campbell’s hiring comes days after Emily Engel-Natzke became the first woman to land the video coaching job with a National League team. The latter was offered this job by the Washington Capitals, after having held the same position with the Hershey Bears, in the AHL.
