Brian Campbell

This article is about the NHL player. For role-playing game designer, see Brian Campbell (game designer).

Brian Campbell
Born	(1979-05-23) May 23, 1979 Strathroy, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Florida Panthers Buffalo Sabres San Jose Sharks Chicago Blackhawks
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	156th overall, 1997 Buffalo Sabres
Playing career	1999–present

Brian Wesley Campbell (born May 23, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, and alternate captain for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.

Personal

Campbell grew up in Strathroy, Ontario, where he attended elementary school at Colborne Street Public School and high school at Strathroy District Collegiate Institute. He also attended Canterbury High School in Ottawa, Ontario while playing for the Ottawa 67's of the OHL. His parents are Ed and Lorna. He has two brothers, Craig and Darryl. Darryl also played pro hockey for four seasons in the ECHL, last for the Mississippi Sea Wolves.

Campbell received national attention in Canada in 2003, not for playing hockey, but because of SARS. Campbell's sister-in-law Vagia, who works at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital visited him on March 24, 2003. Shortly after, she started showing SARS symptoms and was subsequently hospitalized. This led to the quarantine of both Campbell and then teammate Rhett Warrener. Campbell missed three games before being cleared to play again. Neither player had any SARS symptoms.

Brian Campbell and Lauren Miller recently got engaged during the 2011 NHL All-Star break.

He's been given the nickname "Soupy" because he shares his last name with the name of the Campbell Soup Company.

Playing career

Campbell with the Sharks in 2008

Early years

Campbell grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Strathroy, Ontario, where he won an OMHA Championship in Novice. He also played AAA hockey for the Elgin-Middlesex Major Bantam Chiefs along with Joe Thornton in 1993-94, which was the organization's inaugural year. In 1994-95, Campbell signed with the Petronia Jets Jr.B. (OHA) of the Western Ontario Hockey League.

Following his season with the Jets, Campbell was drafted by the Ottawa 67's. Interestingly, the 67's first round pick that season was Nick Boynton, who would end up being a defense partner with Campbell for four seasons in Ottawa. The two reunited 15 years later as teammates with the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.

Campbell was taken by the Ottawa 67's in the OHL as a third round draft pick in the 1995 OHL Priority Selection. In 1998–99 he won the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL's Most Outstanding Player. He also won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL's Defenceman of the Year and the William Hanley Trophy as the OHL's Most Gentlemanly Player, and to top it off Campbell was also awarded the CHL Player of the Year.

Buffalo Sabres

He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres as their 6th round pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first game for the Sabres in the 1999–2000 season, and stayed with the team, wearing number 51, until February 26, 2008 when he was traded to San Jose. During the NHL lockout in 2004–05, he played for Jokerit in Helsinki, Finland and won the silver medal in the SM-liiga Finnish championships.

On January 9, 2007 he was the leading vote getter amongst Eastern Conference defenceman for the 2007 NHL All-Star Game, earning him his first All-Star appearance. As a result of the Sabres rotating captaincy, Campbell was named an alternate captain for the month of November 2007 and captain for the month of December under the Sabres 2007–08 rotating captain and alternate captains system. Campbell was selected again for the 2008 NHL All-Star team.

San Jose Sharks

The 2007-2008 season was the final season Campbell was under contract with Buffalo. On February 26, 2008, the NHL trade deadline, the Sabres traded Campbell, along with their 7th round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (194th overall-Sharks picked right winger Drew Daniels) to the San Jose Sharks for forward Steve Bernier and their 1st round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (26th overall-Sabres picked centre Tyler Ennis). The Sharks were eventually eliminated in the Western Conference Semi-Finals by the Dallas Stars. Campbell became a free agent at the conclusion of the season.

Campbell also led the league during the 2007–08 NHL season in games played as one of only two players to appear in 83 games, or one more than a team's full schedule, as based on his trade to San Jose (the other being Jeff Halpern.) Campbell was named a member of the NHL Competition Committee on April 21, 2008.

Chicago Blackhawks

On July 1, 2008, Campbell signed an 8-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for roughly $7.1 million per year. Fox Chicago reported that Campbell chose to sign with the Blackhawks despite allegedly receiving better contract offers from other organizations. He played in all 82 of Chicago's regular season games in the 2008-09 NHL Season, scoring seven goals to go along with 45 assists. He contributed two goals with eight assists in 17 playoff games that season as Chicago advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings.

On March 14, 2010, Campbell was injured in a boarding incident caused by Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for boarding, while Campbell did not return to the game. Campbell sustained a broken clavicle and broken rib, and was expected to miss 7–8 weeks. Despite this, Campbell managed to return by Game Four of the first round playoffs against Nashville, igniting the team to a three game win streak to knock Nashville out of the playoffs in six games. Campbell had played in 388 consecutive games prior to the injury. The Blackhawks won game 4, 3-0, to even the series at 2-2. Campbell recorded the lone assist on Patrick Kane's overtime game winner over the Philadelphia Flyers as the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on June 9, 2010.

Florida Panthers

During the 2011 NHL Draft, Campbell was dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Rostislav Olesz. During his first season in Florida, Campbell had 49 assists to go with 4 goals for 53 points and only 6 penalty minutes, becoming the first defenceman since Red Kelly in the 1953–54 season to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.

International play

Medal record
Competitor for Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver	1999 Canada

Campbell was a member of Team Canada at the 1999 World Junior Championships, and was named a first team all-star for the tournament. After completion of the Panthers' 2012–13 season, Campbell extended his availability to make his long awaited senior debut for Canada at the 2013 World Championships in Sweden and Finland.

Awards

• 1998-99 OHL First All-Star Team
• 1999 George Parsons Trophy
• 1999 William Hanley Trophy
• 1999 Max Kaminsky Trophy
• 1999 Red Tilson Trophy
• 1999 CHL Player of the Year
• 2009-10 Stanley Cup Champion
• 2011-12 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993–94	Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs Bantam	MHAO		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Petrolia Jets	OHA-B		49	11	27	38	43		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Ottawa 67's	OHL		66	5	22	27	23		4	0	1	1	2
1996–97	Ottawa 67's	OHL		66	7	36	43	12		24	2	11	13	8
1997–98	Ottawa 67's	OHL		66	14	39	53	31		13	1	14	15	0
1998–99	Ottawa 67's	OHL		62	12	75	87	27		9	2	10	12	6
1998–99	Rochester Americans	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		2	0	0	0	0
1999–00	Rochester Americans	AHL		67	2	24	26	22		21	0	3	3	0
1999–00	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		12	1	4	5	4		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Rochester Americans	AHL		65	7	25	32	24		4	0	1	1	0
2000–01	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		8	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Rochester Americans	AHL		45	2	35	37	13		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		29	3	3	6	12		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		65	2	17	19	20		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		53	3	8	11	12		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Jokerit	FNL		44	12	13	25	12		12	3	4	7	6
2005–06	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	12	32	44	16		18	0	6	6	12
2006–07	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	6	42	48	35		16	3	4	7	14
2007–08	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		63	5	38	43	12		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	San Jose Sharks	NHL		20	3	16	19	8		13	1	6	7	4
2008–09	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		82	7	45	52	22		17	2	8	10	0
2009–10	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		68	7	31	38	18		19	1	4	5	2
2010–11	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		65	5	22	27	6		7	1	2	3	6
2011–12	Florida Panthers	NHL		82	4	49	53	6		7	1	4	5	2
2012–13	Florida Panthers	NHL		48	8	19	27	12		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				756	66	326	392	185		97	9	34	43	40

External links

• Brian Campbell's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Brian Campbell's player profile at NHL.com

Awards
Preceded by Sergei Varlamov	CHL Player of the Year 1999	Succeeded by Brad Richards
Preceded by Martin St. Louis	Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner 2012	Succeeded by Incumbent
Sporting positions
Preceded by Toni Lydman	Buffalo Sabres captain December 2007	Succeeded by Jaroslav Spacek