TORONTO – It’s impossible for Jack Campbell to recall the words his parents said Wednesday night when he called to inform mom and dad he’d been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team just a three-hour drive from their home in Port Huron, Mich. A team with a shot and some run support.
Damned if the goaltender can remember what he said to Debbi and Jack Sr. that night either.
“It was like one of those moments, you kinda go dark for a second ’cause it’s just special,” Campbell said. “I just remember how excited they were.
“It was crazy. I’ll never forget that moment.”
Funny how the biggies in life work.
The details blur, but the feelings attached remain crystal.
National Hockey League goaltenders are supposed to follow two golden rules. One: Don’t get nervous. Two: If you do get nervous, don’t admit it.
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So, after Campbell won his first game as a Maple Leaf on Friday night, an overtime nail-biter with mom and dad part of the joyous sold-out barn, the goalie (and secret rom-com fan) endeared himself with his honesty and sensitivity.
“I was just really excited, and I think when you care a lot, you get a little nervous,” Campbell said.
During a whirlwind six days, the new backup in town has furthered endeared with his results, battling through three consecutive overtimes and surfacing with five of six valuable standings points in a playoff race that promises a photo finish.
Fans and teammates alike have warmed quickly to Campbell’s heart-on-sleeve, smile-on-face approach, and he was awarded the dressing room’s Raptors game ball for his .946 effort Tuesday, after waking up thinking he’d be backing up.
“I just like the confidence that he has in himself and the confidence he brings to our team, and he’s excited for every opportunity that comes about — and it doesn’t matter how it comes about. He’s ready for it, whether it’s coming in and playing right away in essentially his first day with us or playing on back-to-back nights or playing today when maybe he wasn’t necessarily coming to the arena thinking that he would be starting,” said coach Sheldon Keefe.
“He’s a guy that does find his way to be comfortable because he’s very social, is outgoing and has a great attitude.”
Leafs Nation, still coming back for more after 53 years of bummers, has its tendencies to ride too high and hate too fast.
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So, although his initials are J.C., we’re not crowing Jack Campbell this season’s saviour quite yet.
But the scrappy, puck-moving goalie has delivered in a small, adrenalin-fueled sample size in his comfy L.A. Kings gear repainted blue and white.
In addition to Tuesday’s 35-save gem in a 3-2 overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes, Campbell’s 2-0-1 splash has permitted starter Frederik Andersen the cushion of time to fully recover from the neck injury he suffered on Feb. 3, and has immediately instilled the skaters in front of him with a rush of confidence that they have a good chance of winning even without No. 31 patrolling the paint.
You may have heard that since Andersen arrived in Toronto, he has been responsible for backstopping 80 per cent of the Leafs’ standings points, contributing a greater share than any other goalie in the NHL.
With Soupy’s warming potential—and a cap-gentle contract that runs through 2021-22—there is real hope that, just maybe, not everything has to live and die with Andersen’s health or hot streaks.
“He’s not just a backup,” Kyle Clifford said of Campbell, who came parcelled in the trade. “There’s a lot of potential there.”
Zach Hyman wants to know if you’ve met Campbell yet because he’s “just a really, really friendly guy.”
Alexander Kerfoot beamed when he said, Campbell’s “energy is awesome.”
Like Andersen, Campbell has taken to gliding out from his crease and standing on the blue line alongside the boys for “O Canada” and frequently punctuates his flashy glove saves with butt-taps to his defenders.
“They always tell me, ‘Good job,’ so it’s kind of like (me saying) ‘Good job.’ It kind of makes you interact with your teammates a little more. Being in the net, you’re not on the bench so you can’t really chat it up with the boys,” Campbell explained.
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.
Drew Doughty, former Kings goalie coach Bill Ranford (who helped with his technique), former Ontario Reign goalie coach Dusty Imoo, Clifford… they all have tales of Campbell’s first-to-the-rink attendance, his long hours in the gym and on the ice, and his tendency to blame himself for every puck that slips through.
“We’re not making this up. This is a real thing. He’s got a work ethic in him that runs very high. He competes on every puck out there in practice like it’s a Game 7 puck. So it’s gotten him to this level. It’s made him a better goalie,” said Jake Muzzin, an ex-King reunited.
That one standings point the Leafs squandered in Montreal on Saturday? Campbell immediately assumed blame for the entire group.
“Yeah, and he played a hell of a game,” said Muzzin, shaking his head. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself to be the best he can be, and he hates to let the team down, let himself down. But a lot of times he’s not. He just puts that on himself.
“That’s kind of guy we have here. So, we’re lucky to have him.”
This extraordinary inner drive is a quality the son inherited from Jack Sr., who owns an electrical distribution company in Port Huron. (“He grinds,” Junior assured.)
The Kings were road-tripping in New York last week when Campbell’s head was spun with news he’d been dealt. He had one pair of pants, a set of gym shorts and no extra boxers.
There’d be no time to fly home from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach. It was straight to Toronto and into the fire, the race, the shopping mall.
“It’s pretty emotional,” Campbell said.
“The excitement level of being a Maple Leaf — not that this takes away from L.A. — but the excitement was so great that you kinda move on right away.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
