Rocanville showing its pride in Jessica Campbell
First female coach in NHL
November 26, 2024, 10:48 am
Ashley Bochek
Jessica Campbell made history on October 8 as the first full-time female coach in the NHL and her home town of Rocanville is showing its pride.
There’s an inspirational quote from Campbell that people see when they enter the Rocanville rink, the town is working on a plan for a sign to honor Campbell, and the town is asking people to decorate in Seattle Kraken colors for Christmas to show their pride.
A career of firsts
Born in Moosomin and raised in Rocanville, Campbell’s path to coaching in the NHL started with a successful hockey career.
Campbell’s hockey career took off with Team Saskatchewan, where she spent three years on the ice and served as a captain twice, representing the province in the National Women’s Under-18 Championship for three consecutive seasons. At the 2009 Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament, she was named the team’s MVP. The following year, Campbell reached new heights, amassing 57 goals and 47 assists for 104 points in just 41 games.
She led Canada’s national U18 team to a gold medal at the 2010 World Championships, led the team in scoring, and scored the game winning goal in overtime in the gold medal game against the United States.
She then played at Cornell University, playing for the Cornell Big Red, in the NCAA from 2010 to 2014.
Her impact on the team was noticeable starting the first year when she made a hat trick against the Robert Morris Colonials and delivered key goals during the Eastern College Athletic Conference semifinals. She finished her freshman year with 26 points in 31 games.
Her professional career was spent playing in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL). In the 2014-2015 season, Campbell became the first rookie to captain Team White at the CWHL All-Star Game.
In 2016 she helped the Calgary Inferno capture their first-ever Clarkson Cup championship, scoring two goals in an 8-3 victory over Montréal.
Following her playing career, Campbell moved into coaching. After retiring from the Canadian national team in 2017, Campbell began her coaching career with high school girls’ hockey before starting her own business, JC Powerskating.
In 2021, she became an assistant coach for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers and the German national team, marking the first time a woman coached at the men’s world championship.
First in AHL, first in NHL
In July 2022, Campbell was hired as an assistant coach for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the top minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.
This was yet another first for her, as she made history as the first full-time woman behind the bench coach in the American Hockey League.
She worked with head coach Dan Bylsma, a Stanley Cup winner, with Coachella Valley.
With Campbell’s and Bylsma’s coaching, the Firebirds were able to reach the Calder Cup Finals two seasons in a row. Bylsma was named coach of the Kraken in May of this year and shortly afterwards brought Campbell on as assistant coach, the first woman to hold that role in the NHL.
“The year ahead is going to be a lot of fun. But to know and to understand that obviously there’s still at the forefront the thoughts of other women and other people who have the same aspirations as I do,” she told NHL.com when she was named to the coaching position with the Kraken. “So, to carry that torch every day and keep my focus on being a coach, but it definitely puts meaning into the work.”
Campbell is a member of the NHL Coaches’ Association’s Female Coaches Program, which supports female coaches with skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking, and career advancement opportunities. Now in its fifth year, the NHLCA Female Coaches Program has more than 100 women, the largest membership in the program’s history. This season, they welcomed 34 new women to the program.
Community pride
There always been a lot of pride in Rocanville around Campbell’s career, and there is a lot of excitement in the community since she has been behind the bench with the Kraken. The sign at the rink, the holiday decorating theme, and the plan for a highway sign are some of the ways that excitement is being shown.
Andrea Logan, the Recreation Director in Rocanville, says the community is proud of her.
“What she has done throughout her career is impressive, and becoming the first female coach in the NHL is a major accomplishment,” says Logan. “As a community, we want to recognize her accomplishments and support her. Rocanville is very proud of Jessica. The fact that she is a female that has made it so far in the hockey world and the NHL, and showing young girls that their dreams can be reached is fantastic, and the signs are just a reminder of all of that.”
Plans for signs, decorating
Logan explains the plans for the signs and the unveiling event in the spring.
“The main sign is going up on the north side of town coming in from Yorkton along Highway 8. The sign will be going up in the spring and we will have some kind of unveiling event. We are making some plans of what that is going to look like, but we don’t have anything set in stone at this point.”
“It was council’s idea to do the holiday decorating,” she said. “They thought that would be a great way to show our pride in what Jessica has done and encourage people to add in Seattle Kraken colors and make Rocanville Krakenville for the winter.”
Tribute at rink
Rocanville currently has a mural at the community rink in honour of Jessica Campbell.
“Right now, we have a little tribute to Jess at the skating rink. We have a mural up on the wall with her ‘you can, and you will’ quote and I would like to get a picture of Jess in front of the mural. It is inspirational when you first walk into the rink,” she said.
Dreams are achievable
Logan says Campbell is a reminder that everyone’s dreams can be achievable.
“It is a reminder to the rest of us that our dreams can be achievable. It is great to acknowledge an individual’s hard work and efforts from our community and show that their efforts paid off and got her to where she is now and a reminder to the rest of us that with hard work and dedication we can get to where we want to go too.
“In a small town you really have to work and be a part of your community. If we want something in this town, we have to rally together to work for it.”
