Jessica Campbell lands a new job in the NHL

Jessica Campbell made history when she became the first woman to serve as a full-time assistant coach behind an NHL bench. Now, the trailblazing hockey mind is heading to a new organization in a different capacity.

The New Jersey Devils are hiring Campbell as their manager of player development, according to sources. The move comes shortly after the Seattle Kraken announced that Campbell would not be returning to the team as her contract expired.

Campbell, 34, spent the past four years within the Kraken organization. She initially joined in July 2022 as an assistant coach with Seattle's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, working under then-coach Dan Bylsma. Together, they helped the Firebirds reach back-to-back Calder Cup Finals.

When Bylsma was promoted to head coach of the Kraken in May 2024, Campbell followed him to the NHL two months later, taking charge of forwards and the team's power play. Bylsma was fired after one season, but Campbell stayed on under replacement Lane Lambert.

The Kraken finished the season at 34-37-11, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs by 11 points.

Before her coaching career took off, Campbell played four seasons of NCAA hockey at Cornell and went on to play professionally in Canada and Sweden. She later built a reputation as a power skating and skills coach, working privately with several NHL players before coaching professionally in Sweden and Germany.

Campbell spoke in March about what her groundbreaking role meant for the sport. "It starts with one. It takes more than that, and you'll start to see that shift and that wave," she said. "Women are going to continue to look at themselves as now coaches in the game, and it's only going to better our game on both sides."

In New Jersey, Campbell joins a front office being reshaped by new general manager Sunny Mehta, who was named to the position in April. Mehta has been actively assembling his staff, bringing in several former Florida Panthers executives, including Braden Birch as assistant GM and Leo Luongo as director of goaltending. Former Panthers executive Bryan McCabe is also reportedly joining the Devils as vice president of prospect personnel and assistant GM for their AHL affiliate in Utica.

Campbell's move to the Devils signals a shift from the bench to the front office, but given her track record of breaking barriers, few would bet against her continuing to chart new territory in the sport.