Jessica Campbell has made history as the first full-time female coach in the National Hockey League, marking a significant milestone in professional hockey.
Campbell was hired by the Seattle Kraken in July, and during the team’s home opener against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 8, the crowd erupted into cheers when she was introduced as part of the team’s coaching staff.
While the Kraken went on to lose to the Blues 3-2, the game was a pivotal turning point for gender equality and coaching in the NHL. Campbell’s appointment as a full-time assistant coach shows there’s a path forward for women who aim to coach at the men’s professional level.
Campbell’s story serves as a reminder of the challenges women coaches face. However, it also demonstrates how achieving a coaching role in a professional league, though difficult, is not impossible.
‘I didn’t know it was possible’
Campbell brings a wealth of knowledge to her new role with the Kraken, from her playing experiences in the NCAA, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and on Canada’s women’s national team.
Her coaching career began as an assistant with the U18 Canadian women’s national team, and from there she coached in Sweden with the Malmö Redhawks. She then served as an assistant coach for the men’s national team in Germany and the Nürnberg Ice Tigers. Campbell later became the first female coach in the American Hockey League when she was hired by the Coachella Valley Firebirds as an assistant coach.
(Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times via AP)
Even with her breadth of experience, Campbell never envisioned herself as an NHL coach. Instead, she was focused on supporting players through her business, JC Power Skating School.
“I didn’t imagine this path for me. I didn’t see it,” Campbell said in a 2023 interview. “Quite frankly there was no visibility and there weren’t other females doing this work, and so I didn’t know it was possible.”
It was not until more and more NHL players sought out her skating and skill development program that she began to consider coaching in the NHL as a potential career path.
Women coaches in the major leagues
The NHL has been slow on the uptake when it comes to full-time women coaches. The other three major leagues — the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association — have had women in coaching roles for years.
At the start of the 2024 season, there were 15 full-time women coaches in the NFL. In 2023, the MLB had 43 women coaching. Within the NBA, there are currently five female assistant coaches.
Yet, these numbers still reflect an alarming gender disparity. Like Campbell, many women may struggle to envision themselves in coaching positions. This moment encourages us to consider both the importance of women in coaching, and why there continues to be an under-representation of women coaching men’s sports.
Research on women in coaching has continuously highlighted barriers in high performance sport. Women coaches often face stereotypes, discrimination and gendered organizational cultures that hinder their advancement in the field.
To combat these barriers, the NHL has implemented various supports to ensure Campbell will not remain in a league of her own.
The NHL Coaches Association launched a Female Coaches Development Program in 2021 to support the development of women coaching hockey. By providing leadership strategies, skill development, networking and career opportunities, the program aims to normalize women coaching men and expand the pool of available candidates.
Paving the way
While Campbell is the first full-time assistant coach in the NHL, others have had opportunities to guest coach at NHL camps or to be on the bench for pre-season games.
For instance, Kim Weiss, the first woman to coach NCAA Division III men’s hockey, served as a guest coach for the Colorado Avalanche.
Similarly, Kori Cheverie, the first woman to coach a Canadian university men’s hockey team, was a guest coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins and became the first female coach on the bench during an NHL pre-season game.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Along with Campbell, the visibility that each of these women provides can spark meaningful change in the NHL. While Campbell’s coaching debut with the Kraken is breaking down barriers, sustained effort and dedication is required to create a more inclusive sport culture.
Continued emphasis on initiatives like the NHL’s Female Coaches Development program are necessary for both current and aspiring women coaches so girls and women can envision themselves in leadership roles in the future.
As a scholar who has studied the under-representation of women coaches, my hope is that Campbell will not remain an anomaly in the NHL, and eventually we see more women in both assistant and head coaching roles.
Campbell’s new position with the Kraken could spur this change, with her and others enriching the NHL through the abilities, contributions and diverse perspectives that women bring to coaching.
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