Firebirds
The NHL Seattle Kraken, the parent organization of the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds, has installed the ʻbirds new head coach while plucking an assistant to make history with the big club.
Jessica Campbell, a Firebird assistant for both years of the teams’ existence, has been promoted to the same position for the Kraken, making her the first full-time female assistant coach in NHL history to work behind the bench.
She rejoins Dan Bylsma, who has been elevated to helm the Kraken, after taking the Firebirds to the Calder Cup finals in each of its two years.
Replacing Bylsma in the Valley, the Kraken hired Derek Laxdal, who had been coach and assistant general manager of the Oshawa Generals, where he was recently named Ontario Hockey League’s, “Coach of the Year.”
He guided the major junior team to a 40-19-7 record in the 2023-24 season, a 31-point improvement over the previous season, and a berth in the OHL’s Championship Series.
“Derek has a successful history of coaching and developing players at all levels,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “We look forward to him leading our group as we continue to build upon the foundation we have established in the AHL and the local community in our first two years in the Valley.”
The 58-year-old Laxdal has 25 years of coaching experience in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, Central Hockey League, Western Professional Hockey League and junior hockey, beginning in the 1994-95 season as the player-assistant coach with the East Coast Hockey League’s Roanoke Express.
“This is an important day for our organization,” Francis said in announcing the ground-breaking promotion of Jessica Campbell.
Her playing career started at Cornell University, where she played four seasons from 2010-14 and captained the squad during her senior year. Campbell played professionally for the CWHL’s Calgary Inferno and the Swedish Division 1’s Malmo Redhawks, in addition to representing Canada in several international tournaments.
She earned a gold medal and MVP award at the 2010 IIHF U18 World Junior Championships and a silver medal at the 2015 IIHF World Championship.
After her playing career, she also served as an assistant and skills coach for Germany’s Nürnberg Ice Tigers in 2021-22. She was an assistant coach for Team Germany at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, where she worked alongside Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer.
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