The fight for gender equality had another victory when the glass ceiling of US National Hockey League (NHL, for its acronym in English) was broken on October 8 with the assumption of Jessica Campbell as assistant coach of the Seattle Krakens. The Canadian is the first woman to hold a management role in the United States professional men’s ice hockey league.
For ice hockey fans, the name Jessica Campbell is no mystery. Until 2017 She was a player for the Canadian national team and for various relevant teams in that country’s league.. The truth is that now his name has transcended all borders because he was crowned as the first assistant coach of the NHL and set a very encouraging precedent for women who until now had not managed to make their voices heard in the field of professional sports.
Jessica Campbell is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player.Instagram/@soupy08
Campbell began her path as a technician when she retired as an athlete. In 2017, a company linked to sports, JC Powerskating, began to be formed and set up in parallel. In this process, already in 2022 He had a brief stint in german hockey team on ice, from where he later moved to serve as assistant with the Coachella Valley Firebirdsan affiliate of the Krakens, based in California’s Coachella Valley, which is part of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Jessica Campbell is the assistant coach of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League.Instagram/@soupy08
During his work with the Coachella Valley Firebirds he met the current coach of the Krakens, And Bylsmawho, surprised by her work, invited her to join the larger team. On October 8, in a game against the Saint Louis Blues, Campbell made his official debut on the Krakens bench. as assistant coach. Although the result was not favorable for his team, which lost 3-2, the date marked a milestone that transcends the outcome of that sporting competition.
The first to highlight the importance of the presence of a woman on the technical team was Bylsma himself, who celebrated the incorporation and in statements to Ansa Latina express: “There was a silver lining to the fact that Jessica was the first female coach in the NHL.. It’s good for her and it’s good for the game. I hope there is a door open for them, instead of having to knock one down or find a way to open it.”
Jessica Campbell is the assistant coach of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League.Instagram/@soupy08
As for the protagonist of the story, her comments after the game showed her real awareness of the significance of the step she has managed to take for other women. “I know that the young people who play their first hockey game tomorrow will know that there may be a coach behind the bench. It’s something very special for me. I’m going to try to honor what it is, because I know, and I definitely understand, that the magnitude and the importance of this moment is really important for our game. “Now I am part of something bigger than myself.”expressed in statements collected by Womenshealthmag.
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