Devils hire Bryan McCabe, Jessica Campbell to staff
A couple of familiar names are moving to the Garden State.
On Wednesday, New Jersey Devils general manager Sunny Mehta announced that the team has hired Bryan McCabe to be assistant general manager of the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets, and Jessica Campbell as manager of player development.
The hirings are meant to improve the organization’s prospect and player development. McCabe’s role is listed as vice president of prospect personnel. He worked on the same staff with Mehta with the Florida Panthers, as McCabe was in the Panthers front office for 14 seasons in various player development roles. The 51-year old was brought in as a player development coach in 2012, later being promoted to director of player development from 2013-17. From there, he became the director of player personnel, a position he held through the past season. He and Mehta were part of the staff that oversaw the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup Final three years in a row, winning it all in 2024 and 2025.
Before donning a suit and tie, McCabe had an elongated NHL career. Having stops with the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers, he appeared in 1,135 regular-season games, totaling 528 points. He also had another 28 points in 56 postseason contests.
Campbell joins the Devils after spending the past two seasons as assistant coach of the Seattle Kraken, having become the first female to coach in the NHL. The Cornell graduate was promoted to the NHL squad after working under Dan Bylsma as an assistant with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s primary affiliate, for two seasons, helping guide the team to back-to-back Calder Cup Final appearances. Campbell stepped down from her position with Seattle this past April, as she decided to pursue other opportunities in the league.
Along with being an assistant coach for Germany at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championship, the 34-year-old had a solid playing career. After her four years at Cornell, she played for the Calgary Inferno of the old Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and briefly with the Malmo Redhawks of the SDHL in Sweden.
