Toronto Maple Leafs: From top pick to ECHL, Jack Campbell realizing potential

It’s been a long, winding, often difficult road to the NHL for Jack Campbell.

To Toronto Maple Leafs fans, Jack Campbell has become known as a premier second, and now emergency first option, following the loss of starter Frederik Andersen to a lower-body injury.

While Andersen had been his usual inconsistent self up until then, posting a 13-8-2 record this season with a less than ideal 2.91 Goals Against Average and .897 Save Percentage, Campbell has shone and shone brightly, posting an undefeated 9-0-0 record with a 1.53 GAA and a .944 SV%, to go along with two shutouts.

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To most passing hockey fans, Campbell’s feel-good story is more surprising than anything, with the Michigan native’s only other significant experience having been spot starting duties with the Los Angeles Kings, following the loss of long-time franchise goalie Jonathan Quick to injuries and, eventually, poor performance.

However, to those familiar with Campbell’s career and past NHL Drafts, there is a lot more to his story than meets the eye, with Campbell having once been seen, believe it or not, as one of the brightest goaltending prospects in the NHL.

The art of the top prospect goaltender isn’t as prevalent in the modern NHL as it was in the past, with most teams relying on established first stringers to get them through the day, or on late round picks who blossom into starters, either overseas or in junior.

At the moment, Florida Panthers prospect Spencer Knight is arguably the most promising goaltending prospect to come out of the First Round, having posted a 16-4-1 record with a 2.18 GAA and four shutouts this season for Boston College. At one point, Campbell appeared to be on a similar career path, until things unfortunately gave way. In junior, Campbell had first caught many people’s eyes as a consistent member of the US World Junior teams, leading the 2010 lineup to an unexpected Gold Medal.

With a solid frame and stable presence in goal, it seemed as though Campbell was destined for a starting role in the NHL. After finishing his USHL stint with the Under-18 team, Campbell was selected 11th overall in the 2010 NHL draft by the Dallas Stars. With starter Marty Turco entering the end of his prime and the team having no true first option (at least at first) the team bet on Campbell to be the future.

Heading into the 2010-11 season, he moved over to the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, where it immediately became apparent that he had a lot more seasoning to go through.

In his two seasons in the OHL with the Spitfires and Soo Greyhounds, Campbell posted GAA’s of 3.80 and 3.35 respectively, though managed to rebound in the Playoffs on a Spitfires team led by current Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis.

Following the 2011-12 season, Campbell migrated to the Stars AHL affiliate in Texas, splitting time on a Stars team that dealt with an absolute juggling act in net. Mainly splitting time with former SEL star Cristopher Nilstorp, Campbell improved to a red-hot 12-2-2 start to the 2013-14 season, earning his first NHL start in the process, allowing 6 goals on 47 shots.

From a former first round pick to an eventual ECHL demotion, goaltender Jack Campbell is finally fulfilling his potential with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Following this though, Campbell struggled with consistency, eventually getting demoted to the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads for parts of the next two seasons. While he showcased his potential once more, posting a 14-5 record with a 1.68 GAA and four shutouts in 2015-16, it wasn’t where the Stars expected Campbell to be to say the least, and with the team now having a reliable tandem of Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen in goal, Campbell was traded to the Kings in the 2016 offseason in exchange for AHL farmhand Nick Ebert.

With former AHL starter Peter Budaj now being named as the Kings starter following the loss of Quick to injuries, Campbell assumed the mantel as AHL starter for the Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign in 2016-17, posting a 31-15-0 record with five shutouts as he finally began to showcase his starting potential.

Following Quick’s return, and Budaj’s departure after being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Campbell began to slowly move up the depth chart, and following the departure of backup Darcy Kuemper, officially assumed the mantel as the Kings’ second option entering the 2018-19 season.

While expected to merely give Quick a night off here and there, the former Conn Smythe winner struggled heavily over the course of the season, posting a bloated 3.38 GAA and a .888 SV%. Because of this, Campbell was given a chance to prove his worth and he didn’t disappoint, posting a 10-14-1 record with a 2.30 GAA, finally establishing himself as a reliable NHL goaltender, something which has carried over in Toronto since being acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline.

Campbell’s career is one I’ve been following on and off ever since his trade to the Kings in 2016, having already been covering Budaj’s ridiculously impressive campaign as a starter.

Since then, Campbell has slowly but surely caught the eye of more and more NHL faithful, culminating in his red-hot trend this season with the Maple Leafs. Throughout his career, Campbell has always showcased glimpses of the potential the Stars saw way back in 2010, and as quickly as he earned his stripes as a reliable backup, he seems just as prepared to assume starting duties in Toronto.

With Frederik Andersen rumored to be out for an extended period of team, Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas has been rumored to be considering shopping for another option in net, which I personally find unnecessary.

While Campbell isn’t exactly the type of goalie who can play back-to-back nights, backup Michael Hutchinson has been solid so far this season and he gives the Leafs a cushion of a variety, and with the way Campbell’s been playing, I have confidence that he can carry Toronto until Andersen is both healthy once more, and well, consistent for the first time since he landed in Toronto.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs’ season hasn’t been without its bumps in the road, they’ve managed to carry on and establish themselves to be the similarly promising contenders of seasons’ past, and while Jack Campbell’s path to the NHL has been similarly bumpy, it seems as though this former First Rounder has managed to carry on and finally realize his long-lost potential.