Campbell ‘honored’ to be 1st woman to coach in NHL, vows to not be last | NHL.com

To that end, Pennal started the National Hockey League Coaches Association’s Female Coaches Development Program on March 8, 2020, an organization that has made an impact in allowing women to network, to get opportunities, to see what is possible – and to make the NHL aware of the potential hires out there.

All that resulted in what transpired on Wednesday – and in what the Seattle bench will look like in the 2024-25 season.

“I’m humbled, obviously, to be in this position,” Campbell said. “You speak to the word first, to be the first. But that’s never really been where my focus is. It’s always on the work, it’s on the impact, it’s on the job. … But I think the biggest thing is that I’m reminded often, and it just puts a lot of meaning into the work, [is] I know that if the team has success and my impact is a good one, it could potentially open up doors for others and open eyes for others to think differently.

“But I try to really just keep my eyes fixed on what matters every day, to be in the now, to be in the moment, to stay in the trenches with the players, and though I am honored to be the first, I don’t want to be the only. And I honestly don’t feel like I’m the only in this organization.”

That, she said, is special. She isn’t the only. Not in Seattle. Not in the NHL. Not anymore.

But now Campbell will become the most visible woman in the NHL, standing behind the bench every game day with the Kraken.

That matters. It makes sense.

“Just to believe anything is possible,” Campbell said. “I’ve, maybe in a naïve way, had the courage to believe that this could be possible. And even though I didn’t see it, I believed I could do it. I think with that inner belief whatever it is, in sport, in life, you can create whatever you believe in.

“I think what’s special and I’m excited about here in Seattle, whether it’s a young girl or a young boy’s first NHL game, they’re never going to see anything different than what they can possibly become. I’m happy to be able to play that role.”