Town of Rocanville unveils ‘Home of Jessica Campbell’ sign

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The hometown of Jessica Campbell, the first female to coach in the NHL, is honouring her accomplishments in a big way.

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On Saturday night, the town of Rocanville unveiled a ‘Home of Jessica Campbell’ sign during a Seattle Kraken watch party at the Nutrien Community Hall, as Campbell’s Kraken were taking on the Edmonton Oilers.

The sign, which has a picture of Campbell coaching for the Kraken and playing for Team Canada, also features the quote, ‘You can and you will.’ That quote has also been painted on the wall inside the town’s rink.

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The sign, which was printed by Humboldt’s Graphic Ad, will be installed on the north side of town later this spring.

“To see that she is from our small town, and she’s accomplished all of these things and got to where she’s got, I think it’s just super inspiring,” said Rocanville’s recreation director Andrea Logan, who helped organize the watch party.

“And it just goes to show that if you really want something, you can do it.”

Along with donations and prizes for a penny arcade at the watch party, Campbell — in partnership with Bauer’s ‘A Stick is Everything’ campaign — donated a composite hockey stick to every minor hockey player in Rocanville. This year, the town had around 60 kids sign up to play hockey.

“Thank you everyone for coming out tonight to support my journey with the Kraken from Day 1,” Campbell said in a video sent to the town for the watch party. “The entire community has been behind me as a player and now as a coach, cheering on this team and our journey this year.

“This accomplishment is not just mine; it’s a testament to this community and town who has been lifting me up every step of the way.

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“I also want to thank my parents and my family for their dedication, love and sacrifice. You’ve shown me what courage and leadership looks like, especially in tough times.

“The countless hours you spent driving me to practices and cheering me on has shaped me to who I am today and the coach I try to show up as every single day.

“To the young hockey players tonight, my advice to you is simple: if you love the game, it will love you right back but only with hard work and commitment. Let this moment tonight prove that your community not only believes in you but is behind you.

“Whatever you set your sights on, know that you can achieve it.

“To the coaches and volunteers for the Tigers, you may not realize the impact you have but do know that your efforts are shaping lives and dreams each and every day. Please keep showing up, keep giving back; your contributions matter far beyond the ice.”

Campbell, 32, grew up in Rocanville and played her minor hockey in the community before moving to Melville to play for the Melville Prairie Fire U18 AAA program. She went on to suit up for Team Canada’s under-18 team, winning silver at the 2009 world championships and gold in 2010, before attending Cornell University, an NCAA Division 1 program.

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Following her college career, Campbell played three years with the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, winning a Clarkson Cup in 2016, while also playing for Canada’s national team, which included a silver-medal finish at the 2015 world championships.

After retiring from playing following a short professional stint in Sweden, Campbell was hired by the U18 Pursuit of Excellence program as an assistant coach in 2017. She eventually started her own power skating program and during the pandemic, she would train NHL players while in Kelowna.

That led to an opportunity to serve as assistant coach for Germany’s men’s team at the world championships in 2021, before Campbell was hired by the Kraken’s American Hockey League affiliate team, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, in 2022. She became the first female to be behind the bench at either of those levels.

After two years with the Firebirds, Campbell made history again as she was hired by the Kraken to serve as an assistant coach prior to this season.

In Rocanville, located 200 kilometres hours east of Regina, Logan said the support around the town for Campbell has been incredible this year, with the town now dubbing itself as “Krakenville.”

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“There’s a lot of pride. Everybody’s super proud of her. And we just want to show our support of her,” said Logan. “She’s just a very humble person but (she was) very grateful that we thought of her to do this.

“You don’t tend to get all the opportunities that people do in bigger centres so watching Jess accomplish what she’s accomplished being from our town, it’s super inspiring and it’s super inspiring especially for young girls.”

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