How trailblazer Jessica Campbell’s ‘different lens’ paid off in her first year as an AHL coach
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
SEATTLE — Bringing up Jessica Campbell’s name to anyone who has worked with or watched her work with the Coachella Valley Firebirds over the last year will illustrate why she gained a massive amount of trust in such a short time.
It’s been a little more than a year since Campbell made history when the Firebirds, who are the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, hired her as an assistant coach, making her the first woman to be behind the bench as a full-time coach in AHL history.
“She’s got a knowledge and an experience and a talent that players can see and understand and they know if they listen, they can get better at what they are doing,” Firebirds coach Dan Bylsma said. “That was evident right from the start and it came through some of the results that we got.”
One conversation with Campbell goes into a number of different subjects. It can range from the importance of building respect with players and empowering those players to reach new levels to managing the outside expectations that come with being a trailblazer in the ever-expanding discussion regarding representation and diversity in hockey.
Campbell navigated those items against the backdrop of the Firebirds’ first season. Their inaugural campaign started with the Firebirds playing their opening 20 games on the road with their arena still under construction. It ended with the Firebirds having the second-most points in the regular season and eventually falling a goal short of winning the AHL championship, the Calder Cup.
For Campbell, the initial step toward helping the Firebirds find success was to establish a foundation centered around respect. That meant letting those players know she was committed to their success and making sure she was doing her job to help them to the best of her ability.
Campbell spoke with players about their goals and the areas where they could improve and let them know she was willing to work with them for as long as they wanted.
“That’s the approach I take — it’s to work with them on an individual level,” Campbell said. “It’s how I want to support them, how they can be helped and then build around that. I was also involved in special teams and running power play. So again, the communication piece and showing them that my mind is creative and I wanted to bring that creativity to them and to the approach of how I could coach them and show them different ways they can think about the game or approach different situations.”
Supporting players to help them on the ice was only one part of Campbell’s approach. She also made a point to routinely check in with players to see how they were doing away from the ice and if they needed to talk about whatever was on their minds.
Firebirds director of business and hockey operations Troy Bodie said Campbell “really took it upon herself” to have meaningful conversations with players.
“It happens all the time where players are going through things and slumps,” Bodie said. “She can talk to them to get them to talk about whatever they are going through. Dan does not ask her to do it. She sniffs it out, goes and finds a player. Whether it is in the locker room or on the ice after practice, she goes and does it and does a great job with it.”
Campbell’s background as a skills coach means she can work with players to improve various aspects of their game, such as skating. Bodie said Campbell took “a lot of pride” in spending significant time with players before and after practices on different areas they wanted to develop.
Bodie estimated that the demand for Campbell by the players was so great that she was likely overworked because she excelled at creating such a high level of respect and trust in just one season.
“Before practices, she’d have half-hour skill sessions that would have 90 percent participation,” said Bodie, who played in more than 500 games between the AHL and NHL. “I was shocked because there’s usually never that much participation for an optional skills practice.”
That work was one of the reasons the Firebirds had success as a team and why numerous players achieved individual accomplishments. Campbell’s primary responsibilities were working with the forwards and running the power-play unit.
Scoring goals either 5-on-5 or with the extra skater advantage was not an issue for the Firebirds in 2022-23. They scored 257 goals, which gave them the third-highest scoring attack in the AHL, while also having 10 players who scored more than 10 goals in the regular season. Their power-play unit finished 14th out of the AHL’s 32 teams with a 20.3% success rate. Bylsma said the Firebirds’ power play ranged between seventh and 14th throughout the season.
The Calder Cup playoffs were no different. The Firebirds had 10 players finish with more than 10 points while leading the AHL with 89 goals — 35 more than the team that finished second in scoring, the Hershey Bears, who beat Coachella Valley for the Calder Cup.
Forward Tye Kartye, who was an undrafted free agent, was named the AHL Rookie of the Year after leading all first-year players with 57 regular-season points (28 goals and 29 assists) and eight points in 18 playoff games. Kartye’s performances led to him being called up to Seattle, where he scored three goals and had five points in 10 playoff games.
“I think players can sense the motive, sense the passion and sense the reasoning why you are a coach who is trying to get to them and why you talk to them,” Bylsma said. “When they see you are in it for them and have their best interest in mind, they are ready to listen. It may not be a loud voice, a rah-rah voice. It may not be a coach’s voice. We hope some of it comes from our players as well. But when a player understands that and senses that, they are all in — and our guys were all in.”
One of the Kraken’s top prospects, forward Shane Wright, spent part of his first professional season with the Firebirds, appearing in eight regular-season games and 24 playoff games. Wright repeatedly stressed how Campbell was “a smart hockey mind” while adding there is a lot to learn from her.
Wright said Campbell told him to “just be yourself” and to play his game. Wright, who was the fourth pick of the 2022 NHL draft, said Campbell told him to stay true to what got him to this point and continue to expand on those abilities.
Wright said the dialogue he and other players had with Campbell led to a collaborative process. He said it felt like there was an understanding that players could give their thoughts to Campbell and vice versa with the idea that everyone benefited from having an open dialogue.
“We feel comfortable going to her if we have a suggestion for her or if she sees something in our game that maybe we can fix or change — building that chemistry or that relationship is always really important,” Wright said.
For as much as Campbell’s job is about developing players, Bylsma explained why the AHL is also an important development stage for coaches.
Bylsma, who won a Stanley Cup and had 320 victories as an NHL coach, said his most formative years as a coach came in the AHL. He described his time spent in the AHL as “a marathon of learning” that allowed him to harness skills such as crafting and delivering a message to a team in ways that hopefully resonate with players.
“Unquestionably for a coach, being in the AHL is huge for their development,” Bylsma said. “Hopefully, as a coach for Jess and [Firebirds assistant Stu Bickel] that is part of my job to develop them as well and I hope that was the case this year.”
Campbell’s success on multiple levels in her first year behind an AHL bench is only just part of her story.
There is also the narrative around Campbell’s first season as it relates to being a coaching pioneer because, until her, there had never been a woman on an AHL bench in a full-time capacity.
“Anything you do differently, any way you approach things differently is always going to get recognized,” Campbell said. “The reality is anytime you see someone doing something different, you’re going to recognize that difference. … I always tried to look at the positive of, ‘Yeah, I might be different. But because I’m different, I’m bringing a different perspective and I’m bringing a new lens to the game and to the guys and to our locker room that they either haven’t heard before or it might be different.'”
Campbell said her ultimate hope is that while her being on the bench is different, there will come a time when seeing a woman on the bench of a men’s hockey team becomes normalized. She said as the season went on, she didn’t focus on being the only woman on an AHL bench but saw it more as the Firebirds having an assistant coach who happened to be a woman.
She also acknowledged how being in her position comes with pressure to perform because she knows there are other women with the same goals and aspirations as her.
“There are other people that perhaps from the outside are looking at it differently,” Campbell said. “I feel and I take pride in knowing that if our team succeeds, if I can succeed, then others are going to have the doors held open for them and that’s where we want the game to go.”
How did Campbell grapple with the gravity and significance of what she was doing? And how much support did she receive, whether from young girls or women who want to break into coaching or just anyone in general who championed what she was accomplishing?
“There was a ton of support from the community and there were also a lot of non-supporters — and that’s fine too,” Campbell said. “I think I’ve felt and I’ve heard it all at this point. But I try to just keep my focus on the work and the impact, and silence the thoughts that come from the outside noise. Yes, I think whatever you put your focus on, that’s where all your energy goes and I tried really hard to not let potential barriers or remarks or comments about me being a female coach in the game impact my confidence or ability as a coach.”
Campbell said she had to consciously check in with herself to make sure she was treating her job no differently than anyone else. That’s why she wanted to make it about the work and the impact that work had on the team.
“But I would be lying if I said it wasn’t something I thought about,” Campbell said. “I did feel that extra layer of pressure because I did feel the extra eyes and people look at me differently because I am different and that’s to me not a negative. To me, hopefully, eventually it will be old and just knowing that success usually trumps all negativity.
“To see the team succeed and to know we as a club and organization are moving in a direction of thinking outside the box, I think that is what I am mostly proud of. It’s knowing that the success that we have has spoken to potentially that the changes are for the good and it’s good for the growth of the game and that we have a unique coaching staff and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
The opening weekend of the 2025 MLB season was taken over by a surprise star — torpedo bats.
The bowling pin-shaped bats became the talk of the sport after the Yankees’ home run onslaught on the first Saturday of the season put it in the spotlight and the buzz hasn’t slowed since.
What exactly is a torpedo bat? How does it help hitters? And how is it legal? Let’s dig in.
Read: An MIT-educated professor, the Yankees and the bat that could be changing baseball
What is a torpedo bat and why is it different from a traditional MLB bat?
The idea of the torpedo bat is to take a size format — say, 34 inches and 32 ounces — and distribute the wood in a different geometric shape than the traditional form to ensure the fattest part of the bat is located where the player makes the most contact. Standard bats taper toward an end cap that is as thick diametrically as the sweet spot of the barrel. The torpedo bat moves some of the mass on the end of the bat about 6 to 7 inches lower, giving it a bowling-pin shape, with a much thinner end.
How does it help hitters?
The benefits for those who like swinging with it — and not everyone who has swung it likes it — are two-fold. Both are rooted in logic and physics. The first is that distributing more mass to the area of most frequent contact aligns with players’ swing patterns and provides greater impact when bat strikes ball. Players are perpetually seeking ways to barrel more balls, and while swings that connect on the end of the bat and toward the handle probably will have worse performance than with a traditional bat, that’s a tradeoff they’re willing to make for the additional slug. And as hitters know, slug is what pays.
The second benefit, in theory, is increased bat speed. Imagine a sledgehammer and a broomstick that both weigh 32 ounces. The sledgehammer’s weight is almost all at the end, whereas the broomstick’s is distributed evenly. Which is easier to swing fast? The broomstick, of course, because shape of the sledgehammer takes more strength and effort to move. By shedding some of the weight off the end of the torpedo bat and moving it toward the middle, hitters have found it swings very similarly to a traditional model but with slightly faster bat velocity.
Why did it become such a big story so early in the 2025 MLB season?
Because the New York Yankees hit nine home runs in a game Saturday and Michael Kay, their play-by-play announcer, pointed out that some of them came from hitters using a new bat shape. The fascination was immediate. While baseball, as an industry, has implemented forward-thinking rules in recent seasons, the modification to something so fundamental and known as the shape of a bat registered as bizarre. The initial response from many who saw it: How is this legal?
OK. How is this legal?
Major League Baseball’s bat regulations are relatively permissive. Currently, the rules allow for a maximum barrel diameter of 2.61 inches, a maximum length of 42 inches and a smooth and round shape. The lack of restrictions allows MLB’s authorized bat manufacturers to toy with bat geometry and for the results to still fall within the regulations.
Who came up with the idea of using them?
The notion of a bowling-pin-style bat has kicked around baseball for years. Some bat manufacturers made smaller versions as training tools. But the version that’s now infiltrating baseball goes back two years when a then-Yankees coach named Aaron Leanhardt started asking hitters how they should counteract the giant leaps in recent years made by pitchers.
When Yankees players responded that bigger barrels would help, Leanhardt — an MIT-educated former Michigan physics professor who left academia to work in the sports industry — recognized that as long as bats stayed within MLB parameters, he could change their geometry to make them a reality. Leanhardt, who left the Yankees to serve as major league field coordinator for the Miami Marlins over the winter, worked with bat manufacturers throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons to make that a reality.
When did it first appear in MLB games?
It’s unclear specifically when. But Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo bat last year and went on a home run-hitting rampage in October that helped send the Yankees to the World Series. New York Mets star Francisco Lindor also used a torpedo-style bat last year and went on to finish second in National League MVP voting.
Who are some of the other notable early users of torpedo bats?
In addition to Stanton and Lindor, Yankees hitters Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt have used torpedoes to great success. Others who have used them in games include Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers and Toronto’s Davis Schneider. And that’s just the beginning. Hundreds more players are expected to test out torpedoes — and perhaps use them in games — in the coming weeks.
How is this different from a corked bat?
Corking bats involves drilling a hole at the end of the bat, filling it in and capping it. The use of altered bats allows players to swing faster because the material with which they replace the wood — whether it’s cork, superballs or another material — is lighter. Any sort of bat adulteration is illegal and, if found, results in suspension.
Could a rule be changed to ban them?
Could it happen? Sure. Leagues and governing bodies have put restrictions on equipment they believe fundamentally altered fairness. Stick curvature is limited in hockey. Full-body swimsuits made of polyurethane and neoprene are banned by World Aquatics. But officials at MLB have acknowledged that the game’s pendulum has swung significantly toward pitching in recent years, and if an offensive revolution comes about because of torpedo bats — and that is far from a guarantee — it could bring about more balance to the game. If that pendulum swings too far, MLB could alter its bat regulations, something it has done multiple times already this century.
So the torpedo bat is here to stay?
Absolutely. Bat manufacturers are cranking them out and shipping them to interested players with great urgency. Just how widely the torpedo bat is adopted is the question that will play out over the rest of the season. But it has piqued the curiosity of nearly every hitter in the big leagues, and just as pitchers toy with new pitches to see if they can marginally improve themselves, hitters will do the same with bats.
Comfort is paramount with a bat, so hitters will test them during batting practice and in cage sessions before unleashing them during the game. As time goes on, players will find specific shapes that are most comfortable to them and best suit their swing during bat-fitting sessions — similar to how golfers seek custom clubs. But make no mistake: This is an almost-overnight alteration of the game, and “traditional or torpedo” is a question every big leaguer going forward will ask himself.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The once and possibly future home of the Tampa Bay Rays will get a new roof to replace the one shredded by Hurricane Milton with the goal of having the ballpark ready for the 2026 season, city officials decided in a vote Thursday.
The St. Petersburg City Council voted 7-1 to approve $22.5 million to begin the repairs at Tropicana Field, which will start with a membrane roof that must be in place before other work can continue. Although the Rays pulled out of a planned $1.3 billion new stadium deal, the city is still contractually obligated to fix the Trop.
“We are legally bound by an agreement. The agreement requires us to fix the stadium,” said council member Lissett Hanewicz, who is an attorney. “We need to go forward with the roof repair so we can do the other repairs.”
The hurricane damage forced the Rays to play home games this season at Steinbrenner Field across the bay in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. The Rays went 4-2 on their first homestand ever at an open-air ballpark, which seats around 11,000 fans.
Under the current agreement with the city, the Rays owe three more seasons at the Trop once it’s ready again for baseball, through 2028. It’s unclear if the Rays will maintain a long-term commitment to the city or look to Tampa or someplace else for a new stadium. Major League Baseball has said keeping the team in the Tampa Bay region is a priority. The Rays have played at the Trop since their inception in 1998.
The team said it would have a statement on the vote later Thursday.
The overall cost of Tropicana Field repairs is estimated at $56 million, said city architect Raul Quintana. After the roof, the work includes fixing the playing surface, ensuring audio and visual electronics are working, installing flooring and drywall, getting concession stands running and other issues.
“This is a very complex project. We feel like we’re in a good place,” Quintana said at the council meeting Thursday.
Under the proposed timeline, the roof installation will take about 10 months. The unique membrane system is fabricated in Germany and assembled in China, Quintana said, adding that officials are examining how President Donald Trump’s new tariffs might affect the cost.
The new roof, he added, will be able to withstand hurricane winds as high as 165 mph. Hurricane Milton, one of the strongest hurricanes ever in the Atlantic basin at one point, blasted ashore Oct. 9 south of Tampa Bay with Category 3 winds of about 125 mph.
Citing mounting costs, the Rays last month pulled out of a deal with the city and Pinellas County for a new $1.3 billion ballpark to be built near the Trop site. That was part of a broader $6.5 billion project known as the Historic Gas Plant district to bring housing, retail and restaurants, arts and a Black history museum to a once-thriving Black neighborhood razed for the original stadium.
The city council plans to vote on additional Trop repair costs over the next few months.
“This is our contractual obligation. I don’t like it more than anybody else. I’d much rather be spending that money on hurricane recovery and helping residents in the most affected neighborhoods,” council member Brandi Gabbard said. “These are the cards that we’re dealt.”
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Adam Rittenberg
Tulane quarterback TJ Finley has been suspended following his arrest Wednesday in New Orleans on a charge of illegal possession of stolen things worth more than $25,000.
Finley, 23, whose name is Tyler Jamal, was booked and released. Tulane said in a statement that the length of the suspension will depend on the outcome of his case. The school cited privacy laws in declining to comment further.
University police responded Wednesday to an address where a truck was blocking a driveway. After looking up the license plate, police saw it registered to a vehicle stolen in Atlanta. Finley arrived to move the car and informed the officer that he had bought the truck recently. He’s scheduled to appear in court June 1.
Finley transferred to Tulane in December after spending the 2024 season with Western Kentucky. He had been competing for the team’s starting quarterback job in spring practice alongside fellow transfers Kadin Semonza and Donovan Leary.
Finley, a native of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, started his college career at LSU before transferring to Auburn for two seasons and then Texas State in 2023. He started five games for both LSU and Auburn but had his most success with Texas State, passing for 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns.
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