Gregory Campbell (ice hockey)

Gregory Campbell
Campbell in 2014, wearing the "A" for the Boston Bruins.
Born December 17, 1983
London, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
Boston Bruins
Florida Panthers
NHL Draft 67th overall, 2002
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2003present

Gregory James "Soupy" Campbell (born December 17, 1983) is a Canadian ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. He is the son of former NHL player and current NHL Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.

Playing career

Amateur

Born in London, Ontario, Campbell grew up in nearby Tillsonburg playing the majority of his minor hockey with the Tillsonburg Tornados BB teams of the OMHA Southern Counties League and the AAA Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs of the Alliance Pavilion League until Minor Bantam.

He was drafted by the Plymouth Whalers in the 6th round (102nd overall) in the 1999 OHL Bantam Supplemental Draft after playing the 1998-99 season with the Aylmer Aces Jr.B. club.

Campbell was traded by Plymouth on August 2, 2002 to the Kitchener Rangers along with a 3rd round draft pick for Ryan Ramsey, Gary Klapowski, and a 2nd round pick. According to the Rangers, Campbell was brought in to "fill the need for a strong forward to park in the crease area to play alongside Derek Roy on the Rangers top unit and especially on the powerplay, filling a gap left by graduating power forwards: Jeff Szwez and John Osborne who combined for 42 goals for the Rangers last season."[1]

Gregory Campbell was even late invitee to the World Junior Championships camp joining current Rangers: Steve Eminger and Derek Roy at the camp. Campbell, along with Roy and Eminger (as well as current Bruins teammate Daniel Paille), played for Team Canada at the 2003 World Junior Championships.

Through 55 games for Kitchener, Campbell racked up 23 goals and 33 assists for 56 points playing alongside Derek Roy. In 21 playoff games for Kitchener, Campbell scored 15 goals and picked up 4 assists for 19 points with 34 PIM, leading his team to contend for the Memorial Cup in 2003. Campbell recorded 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points in four games in the tournament. He was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star team along with Derek Roy, Mike Richards, Steve Eminger, Doug O'Brien, and Scott Dickie. Campbell was awarded the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the tournament's leading scorer and the George Parsons Trophy as most sportsmanlike player.[2]

Professional

Florida Panthers

Campbell was drafted 67th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He played two NHL games in 2003–04, but did not register a point in those contests. He scored his first goal in 2005-06, in a 4–3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, against goaltender Yann Danis.

Campbell in 2012.

Boston Bruins

On June 22, 2010 he was traded by the Panthers along with Nathan Horton to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Dennis Wideman and a first round draft pick (15th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and a third round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[3]

In the 2010–11 season Campbell set a career high in penalty minutes (93) and tied a career high in goals (13). During the Stanley Cup Playoffs Campbell centered the Bruins' penalty kill, notably shutting down a potent Vancouver Canucks power play in the Stanley Cup Finals, limiting them to just two power play goals through seven games. On June 15, 2011, Campbell won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins. On June 12, 2012, he re-signed a three-year deal, worth $4.8 million.

On June 5, 2013, during the 3rd Game of the Eastern Conference finals, Campbell suffered a broken right fibula after throwing himself in front of an Evgeni Malkin slapshot during a crucial penalty kill. Campbell regained his footing and despite being unable to put any pressure on his right leg, he remained on the ice for more than a minute. In doing so, he helped kill off the Penguins power play before painstakingly skating himself to the bench. The Bruins went on to win the game 2-1 in double overtime.[4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1998–99Aylmer Aces Jr.B.OMHA49591444
1999–00St. Thomas Stars Jr.B.OMHA551282051
2000–01Plymouth WhalersOHL652121440100007
2001–02Plymouth WhalersOHL65173653105602213
2002–03Kitchener RangersOHL55233356116211541934
2003–04San Antonio RampageAHL7613162973
2003–04Florida PanthersNHL20005
2004–05San Antonio RampageAHL70121628113
2005–06Florida PanthersNHL6436940
2005–06Rochester AmericansAHL1133630
2006–07Florida PanthersNHL7963966
2007–08Florida PanthersNHL815131872
2008–09Florida PanthersNHL7713193276
2009–10Florida PanthersNHL602151753
2010–11Boston BruinsNHL8013162993251344
2011–12Boston BruinsNHL7888168070220
2012–13Boston BruinsNHL484913411534711
2013–14Boston BruinsNHL828132147120004
2014–15Boston BruinsNHL70661245
NHL totals 721 68 108 176 618 59 4 9 13 19

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2003 Canada WJC 2nd 6 1 1 2 4
Junior totals 6 1 1 2 4

See also

References

  1. "Gregory Campbell newest addition to Rangers team". RangersRush. 2002-08-02. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  2. "Rangers win 2003 MasterCard Memorial Cup". Kitchener Rangers. 2003-05-26. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  3. "Panthers deal Horton, Campbell to Boston for Wideman, picks". The Sports Network. 2010-06-22. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  4. "Gregory Campbell breaks leg source says". ESPN. 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2013-06-06.

External links