Rocanville, Sask., celebrates hometown hockey hero Jessica Campbell, 1st woman to coach from an NHL bench [Video]

Jessica Campbell’s hometown is celebrating her achievement as the first woman to take on an assistant coaching job in the NHL, but she says the volunteers in Rocanville, Sask., are the real heroes.

The town is hosting a watch party on Saturday night at the Rocanville community hall as Campbell’s Seattle Kraken take on the Edmonton Oilers.

The town of just under 900 people, located about 200 kilometres east of Regina, is also erecting a billboard along Highway 8 that honours her local roots and her stints on the town’s hockey teams.

Many of the volunteers who coached and organized tournaments when Campbell was growing up are still involved in local hockey, Campbell said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The 306.

“Those early years as a player are very formative,” she said.

“I can’t say thank you enough to the people that showed up as volunteers, because they’re the ones that made a difference.

“They made …