Campbell named first woman coach for Rangers development camp

Jessica Campbell was named a coach for the New York Rangers' 2022 development camp Tuesday.

The 29-year-old will be the first woman to serve in the role for the Rangers when the camp gets underway this summer.
Campbell joins the Rangers after being an assistant coach for Germany at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, where she was the first woman on the coaching staff of a national team at the men's tournament.
"My approach is just to be a really strong communicator, to make sure my communication and my approach to player development makes complete sense to the game and to the situations that the players find themselves in," Campbell told the Rangers website Tuesday. "Anytime I'm teaching any skills or skating to any athletes at any level -- I've been in their shoes, and I know the process and the thought processes that the players are going through. It's my job to guide them, to add more tools to their tool belt, and that has to start with the game and adding value to their game."
Germany finished second in Group B, which included Switzerland and Canada, before losing 4-1 in the quarterfinals to Czechia. Goalie Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken), defenseman Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings) and forward Tim Stutzle (Ottawa Senators) played for Germany.
"My goal as a coach has always been to coach at the highest level," Campbell told the IIHF website during the preliminary round in May. "It wasn't really about the women's game or the men's game. In player development, you're working with players of all ages, all levels, but I knew I wanted to work with pro athletes. But the transition going to the men's game excited me, not because of the challenges but I felt I had a unique voice and unique perspective. The way I see things might be different, and that has allowed me to separate myself and establish a little bit more of a niche on the men's side. I'm excited by that."
Named president of the Windy City Storm Girls' Hockey program in Chicago on Aug. 5, 2021, this past season she also worked with the development program of Tri-City of the United States Hockey League and was an assistant coach and skills coach for Nuremberg in DEL, Germany's top professional men's league.
The captain of Cornell (NCAA) during her senior season, Campbell scored 100 points (46 goals, 54 assists) in 131 games from 2010-14. During her career, Cornell won three Ivy League championships, three ECAC Hockey regular season and tournament championships, and played in four NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Frozen Four twice. After college, she played three seasons for Calgary of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, scoring 50 points (29 goals, 21 assists) in 63 games from 2014-17. In the 2016 Clarkson Cup Final, she scored twice to help Calgary defeat Montreal 8-3.
A native of Rocanville, Saskatchewan, Campbell played for Canada at the 2009 and 2010 IIHF Women's World Under-18 Championship. The team finished second in 2009. In 2010, as captain, she scored the golden goal 3:10 into overtime in a 5-4 win against the United States. Campbell was named MVP after leading the tournament with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in five games. She also played for Canada at the 4 Nations Cup, finishing first in 2014 and second in 2015. At the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship, she played in five games as Canada finished second.
Campbell joins a growing list of women named to roles by NHL teams. Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 10, the Vancouver Canucks named Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato as assistant general managers in NHL history. Meghan Duggan was promoted by the New Jersey Devils to director of player development on May 31, and on June 7 the Montreal Canadiens named Marie-Philip Poulin a player development coach. Last May, the Toronto Maple Leafs promoted Hayley Wickenheiser to senior director of player development and named Danielle Goyette director of player development.