Visram makes history for Kings, second woman to serve behind NHL bench

Aisha Visram became the first woman in Los Angeles Kings history to work behind the bench Thursday.

Visram, an athletic trainer, was behind the bench for the Kings' 6-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Crypto.com Arena. She is the second woman ever to work behind the bench in the NHL, after assistant athletic trainer Jodi van Rees with the Montreal Canadiens in 2002, according to the Professional Hockey Athletic Trainers Society.
The PHATS originally said that Visram was the first woman to work behind the bench during a regular-season game in the NHL and corrected that mistake Saturday.

Kings coach Todd McLellan had high praise for Visram's work.
"That's incredible. That's great. We need more of that in our game. I can tell you that Aisha is a big part of our organization," McLellan said. "And we don't talk about these people. We don't talk about the trainers or the equipment people, but she's mentoring with [head athletic trainer] Chris Kingsley and the rest of the staff, and accepted a huge role there and does a tremendous job, so unreal reward for her. And everybody's a big part of it, so include her in it."

Visram is head trainer for the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate in Ontario, California, and got the call to work for the Kings on Thursday after members of their support staff entered COVID-19 protocol.
Visram worked for Adironadack of the ECHL from 2017-20, while also serving on the league's Trainers Advisory Committee. From 2012-17 she was trainer for the NCAA Division I St. Lawrence University men's and women's ice hockey teams.
Thursday also happened to be the one-year anniversary of her hiring by Ontario.

"When I was growing up, the idea of women working in professional hockey was still a little crazy, and I've been lucky that a lot of really qualified, driven women came before me to pave the way," Visram said in an Ontario video celebrating the Hockey is for Everyone initiative. "But I've never felt, since I've come here, that it was ever an issue. I think it means that the game is trying to be more inclusive."
NHL.com independent correspondent Dan Greenspan contributed to this report