Oh, my, where to begin with Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell appearing on the long-time revered “After Hours” television program up north. The Sportsnet show is an institution that Canadians consider must-viewing as part of the country’s “Hockey Night in Canada” tradition. After the Kraken’s Saturday night 6-3 decisive home win against division rival Vancouver, Campbell settled in with host Scott Oake and former Kraken KJR radio analyst/now Canucks TV analyst Dave Tomlinson for an inspiring conversation that fans can watch in its entirety here. Let’s review some of the many high points:
Family Inspiration
So many choices, but let’s agree it’s mandatory to start with Campbell and her family mourning the loss of oldest brother, Josh, 18 years old, killed in a car crash when Jessica was 10. Josh was a Canadian juniors player with ambitions to play in the NHL. Campbell made it clear in the Sportsnet program that her brother is the reason every day why she has pursued a professional hockey career.
“He's with me every day, I know that for sure,” said Campbell, who wore a number 8 jersey during her storied playing career in honor of Josh. “It's hard to put words when you get to live out somebody else's dream ... Our whole family loves the game. That’s where we kind of healed and mourned through it, leaning into hockey. I know Josh is so proud, as this was his dream to play in the NHL. In many ways, I get to have the greatest job and privilege in the world to carry the torch for him, to get to do what I love every day and to know that his spirit is with me.”
Highlight of Highlights in Her First NHL Season
Campbell said many moments this year “have just hit in different ways.” But, fittingly, she went straight to Seattle fans on Kraken Day: “I think opening night here at Climate Pledge [Arena], when they introduced our team, our new captains, when I heard the crowd’s response [to her announcement as an assistant coach], this the Seattle sports community, it's unbelievable. Our fan base is unbelievable. My whole family was here on opening night. My best friends, former teammates, they traveled all across Canada and North America to be here ... it really hit me, the magnitude of what we're doing here and where we're going, what this means for other women in sport and in hockey and, really, across all industries.”
A Lifelong Role Model
The entire Campbell family played hockey at a high level, four siblings and her parents. Her mother, Monique, was her coach in youth hockey when Campbell played on boys teams (girls teams were not available) until she starred for Team Canada (winning gold and silver medals but the Kraken assistant coach what she remembers most is “every teammate”), Cornell University and three seasons with the women’s pro Calgary Inferno.
“I look up to my mom in many ways,” said Campbell. “She's a teacher. She's a coach. She showed up for us ... I grew up in a hockey household where both my parents understood it, and she pushed us hard. She always pushed us when she knew we loved it. Not to an extreme. She understood what we were trying to do. We were trying to grow the game, trying to create a better, higher product of girls' hockey. I remember sitting at our kitchen table, and we drew up that logo, my sister and I. We took it to Yorkton [Saskatchewan] McDonald's with her, tried to get sponsorship dollars. She modeled for me what it would take ... you'd have to sacrifice in many different ways to break through things. But she always showed up. Showed up for the girls, she showed up for my boys teams and, yeah, she still is our biggest supporter [of women in hockey].”
Surprises Galore
Oake and the “After Hours” show staff did plenty of solid reporting and research to populate the show with fun surprises for Campbell, who was good-natured throughout, starting with an opening video message from her childhood idol, Cassie Campbell, the unrelated captain of the 2002 and 2006 Team Canada women’s Olympic teams that won gold. There are images of Campbell’s earliest days on ice in Rocanville (SK), a close-knit town with less than 1,000 residents.
But there was good reason why Oake flagged a teaser about Campbell’s appearance on the wildly popular “Battle of the Blades” (think “Dancing with the Stars”). It prepared Campbell for the later viewing of the highly respected skating coach (who worked all sorts of NHLers coming back from the pandemic) donning figure skates for the first time. When the video clip rolled, Oake noted the show director told him the Kraken assistant coach “really came out of her comfort zone.” It should be noted that Campbell agreed to the appearance to raise money for the Do It For Darren youth mental health movement; she explains more on-air.
“This is more than out of my comfort zone,” said Campbell, smiling and laughing as a duet with former Canadian champion ice dancer Asher Hill played. “One of the most challenging things I've ever done, probably will ever do, is do what you're seeing right now. That only happens in COVID ... I was more beat up after this show than probably ever in my hockey career ... That was part of the entertainment of the viewers, just watching us hockey players fall on our face ... We raised quite a bit of money through the show, and that's what it was all about.”
