Jessica Salisbury joins the Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey staff ahead of the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach.
Salisbury spent the last two seasons serving as head coach of the women's ice hockey program at Assumption University in Worcester, Mass. While in charge of the Greyhounds, she was tasked with recruiting, retaining, and graduating student-athletes, designing practice plans, and coordinating team travel. Under Salisbury's guidance, Assumption were Champions of the Independent Women's Club Hockey League (IWCHL) in 2023 before making the jump to the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) as an NCAA sponsored program last year.
Also over the last two years, Salisbury simultaneously worked at Bryant University as the Assistant Equipment Manager. In that role, she was in charge of ordering, receiving, and organizing equipment for the Bulldogs' varsity athletic programs as well as managing student workers.
Salisbury has plenty of coaching experience at the NCAA Division III level with various programs. During the 2020-21 campaign, she served as an assistant coach on the women's ice hockey staff at Becker College in Worcester, Mass., where she assisted with all facets of the program.
Before that, Salisbury was the head coach for one season at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. In her one season at the helm of the Wildcats in 2019-20, she led the team to its best season in program history with a third place finish in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC). Off the ice, her student-athletes collectively eared a 3.60 team GPA. Prior to her appointment as head coach at Johnson & Wales, Salisbury was an assistant coach for the program for two seasons from 2017-19.
The Ocean State native has also gained experience coaching at the Rhode Island Sting Gold Medal Ice Hockey Camp under Sara DeCosta-Hayes and Vicki Movsessian, who were both members of the United States women's ice hockey team that won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan. She was previously an evaluator for the USA Hockey Yankee Conference as well.
Salisbury is a 2015 graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies. She was a four-year member of the Beacons women's ice hockey program and played in 78 games in her career as a defender. She was also the student manager for both the men's and women's ice hockey teams for three years from 2012-15 and additionally served as a supervisor in the school's Student-Athlete Success Center during that time. Off the ice, Salisbury volunteered in the community, spending time with the Shop with a Cop and Team Impact programs.
Salisbury graduated from North Smithfield High School in R.I. in 2011. She was a three-sport athlete, playing ice hockey and lacrosse in addition to running cross country. She was a captain of the women's ice hockey team, an All-State selection twice, and earned Most Valuable Player honors in the Rhode Island High School State Hockey Championships.
Salisbury is on track to earn her Master of Science degree in Sports Management from the University of Phoenix in December of 2025. She is currently a USA Hockey Level IV coach and has certification in CPR, AED, First Aid, and as an American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor.
