Brian Wesley Campbell (born May 23, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010, assisting on the deciding goal.
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Personal life
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, while playing for the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League (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, lastly for the Mississippi Sea Wolves.
In 2003, Campbell was quarantined due to a potential SARS outbreak — a relative of Campbell, who worked at a hospital, had visited him just before the relative began to show SARS symptoms and was subsequently hospitalized. This led to the quarantine of both Campbell and then-teammate and roommate Rhett Warrener. Campbell missed three games before being cleared to play again. Neither player had any SARS symptoms.
Campbell and Lauren Miller got engaged during the 2011 NHL All-Star break.
Campbell has been given the nickname "Soupy" because he shares his surname with that of the Campbell's.
Campbell's jersey was retired by the Ottawa 67's' during their 50th anniversary season. It was officially retired on November 3, 2017, at TD Place Arena prior to a game against the Barrie Colts. Campbell is the fifth player to have their number retired by the Ottawa 67's.
Playing career
Early years
Campbell grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Strathroy, Ontario, where he won an OMHA Championship at the novice level. He also played AAA hockey for the Elgin-Middlesex Major Bantam Chiefs, along with future NHL teammate Joe Thornton, in 1993–94, which was the organization's inaugural year. In 1994–95, Campbell signed with the Petrolia Jets Jr.B. (OHA) of the Western Ontario Hockey League (WOHL).
Following his season with the Jets, Campbell was drafted by the Ottawa 67's. The 67's first-round pick that season was Nick Boynton, who would end up being a defence partner with Campbell for four seasons in Ottawa; they reunited 15 years later as teammates on the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning 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, CHL Player of the Year, and finally, the Memorial Cup as Ottawa defeated Calgary 7–6 in overtime on home ice.
Professional
Campbell was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres as their sixth-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 the Finnish SM-liiga and won the silver medal in the league championships.
On January 9, 2007, Campbell 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 policy, Campbell was named an alternate captain for the month of November 2007 and captain for the month of December. Campbell was then selected again to the 2008 NHL All-Star Game.
The 2007–08 season was the final season Campbell was under contract with Buffalo. On February 26, 2008, at the NHL trade deadline, the Sabres traded Campbell, along with their seventh-round draft pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft (194th overall; Drew Daniels), to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Steve Bernier and their 2008 first-round pick (26th overall; Tyler Ennis). The Sharks were eventually eliminated in the Western Conference Semi-finals by the Dallas Stars, and Campbell became a free agent at the conclusion of the season.
Campbell also led the NHL during the 2007–08 season in games played, being one of just two players to appear in 83 games, or one game more than a team's full schedule, because of his trade to San Jose; the other was Jeff Halpern. Campbell was named a member of the NHL Competition Committee on April 21, 2008.
On July 1, 2008, Campbell signed an eight-year contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks for roughly $7.1 million annually. 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 season, scoring seven goals to go with 45 assists for 52 points as Blackhawks qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2002. He contributed two goals with eight assists in all 17 Stanley Cup playoff games that season as Chicago defeated the Calgary Flames in six games and Vancouver Canucks in six games within the first two rounds of the 2009 playoffs before they were eliminated by the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals in five games.
International play
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.