SEATTLE (AP) 鈥� New Seattle Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said current Coachella Valley assistant coach Jessica Campbell could be a candidate for a similar position with the NHL club.
Bylsma has been the head coach at Coachella Valley for the past two seasons with Campbell as one of his assistants. Bylsma said Campbell and fellow Coachella Valley assistant Stu Bickell will be among a group in consideration for a role with the Kraken.
Bylsma said Tuesday he intends to speak with current Seattle assistants Jay Leach and Dave Lowery about their possible futures with the team, but there are also talks about coaches that could be brought in from the outside.
鈥淛essica鈥檚 been part of that conversation. Stu Bickell has been part of that conversation and what they鈥檝e done the last two years in developing players down there 鈥� Tye Kartye, Ryker Evans 鈥� is evidence of that, so they are part of the conversation about going forward with the staff here,鈥� Bylsma said.
Campbell became the first female full-time assistant coach in the AHL when she was hired by the team before the start of its first season. on the bench at the NHL level.
Emily Engel-Natzke was as the first woman in the role of video coordinator in June 2022.
Seattle general manager Ron Francis said there haven鈥檛 been any conversations with Campbell yet, only internal talks with Bylsma about potential options.
鈥淭he job she鈥檚 done is the reason why we hired her. We didn鈥檛 hire her because she was female. We hired her because she was a good coach,鈥� Francis said. 鈥淪he has an interesting background, not only skating but skill development and that鈥檚 a big part of what they鈥檝e been able to do at Coachella Valley.鈥�
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AP NHL:
Tim Booth, The Associated Press
