Jessica Campbell was promoted to Seattle Kraken assistant coach Wednesday, making her the first woman to hold that job full-time with an NHL team.

Campbell spent the past two seasons as an assistant under Dan Bylsma with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Seattle’s AHL affiliate, and helped them reach the Calder Cup Final in back-to-back years.

She held a number of different responsibilities with the Firebirds — overseeing the forwards and power play, while also doing skills work on the side.

A former high-level national team player in Canada with a background as a world-class skating coach, Campbell has been credited with helping the development of a number of the organization’s young prospects. The most notable among them is forward Tye Kartye, an undrafted free agent who was named the AHL’s rookie of the year while with the Firebirds in 2023 and graduated to a role with the Kraken this past season.

Campbell joins Emily Engel-Natzke — a video coach for the Washington Capitals — as the only women employed as traveling full-time members of NHL coaching staffs. Other women have been employed in temporary or part-time work by NHL teams or as guest coaches and trainers, but Campbell will be the first on the bench full-time.

Campbell previously became the first woman to be a…

Joonas Donskoi is retiring from the NHL after seven seasons, he announced via social media Sunday.

“After suffering multiple concussions over my career I’ve decided to retire from professional hockey,” Donskoi said in his statement. “It is extremely hard to let go of something you have put your whole life into, but at this point I know it’s the right decision for my own well being and future.”

Donskoi was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round of the 2010 NHL Draft, later making his professional debut during the 2015-16 season. The forward spent his first four years with the Sharks, tallying 283 of his 474 career games, 45 goals and 77 assists.

The 31-year-old then played two years with the Colorado Avalanche and one final season with the Seattle Kraken. Donskoi missed all of last season after suffering his seventh concussion during a Kraken’s preseason game.

“Thank you San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken,” Donskoi said. “It was an honor to be part of these three world class organizations, cities and fanbases. To all my teammates, coaches, trainers, doctors, front offices, and fans: thank you for the best years of my life.”

He  ended his statement saying, “Thank you to my wife, Devin, I don’t know where I’d be without…