By Jeff Helsdon
Editor
When Tillsonburg native Colin Campbell visited the Hockey Hall of Fame decades ago, little did he ever imagine his future connection to it or that he would one day be inducted into it as a builder.
Campbell was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a builder on Monday night in a ceremony surrounded by his peers and family. This followed a press ceremony on Nov. 8 televised on TSN, during which inductees were presented with their rings.
Builders are recognized for their contributions to hockey. As a builder, Campbell joins such distinguished hockey names as Senator Hartland Molson, Foster Hewitt, Conn Smythe, Straffordville native Harley Hotchkiss (part owner of the Calgary Flames), and even Lord Stanley.
Campbell’s first exposure to the Hockey Hall of Fame was as a young baseball player when he attended a tournament at the CNE. At the time, the Hall of Fame was on the exhibition grounds.
“I remember going there, walking through the hall of fame,” he recounted in a recent interview.
“Never did I think I’d be elected to that hall of fame,” he said on Friday. “Like so many kids, I just wanted to play for the Peterborough Petes.”
In a career that spanned more than 50 years, and is still going, he played in the NHL, won the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach, worked as Senior Executive Vice-President of Hockey Operations, and saw his son Gregory win both the Memorial and Stanley Cups.
Campbell’s first exposure to hockey was in Tillsonburg, both on Lake Lisgar playing pond hockey, and in what is now the Memorial Arena, next to the community arena that was later built and named in his honour. Lake Lisgar pond hockey would also play an influential role in changing NHL and international hockey.
He played his minor hockey in Tillsonburg, graduating with the Tillsonburg Kinsmen Juveniles. Campbell played with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL from 1970 to 1973. The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted him in the second round of the 1973 draft. He also played for the Colorado Rockies, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings during a professional playing career that spanned 12 seasons. During his NHL playing time, he earned 128 points and 1,295 penalty minutes in 636 games.
After he retired from playing, Campbell spent three years as assistant coach in Detroit, before moving to New York Rangers as associate coach, and then head coach. He earned a Stanley Cup ring during that time and was the only person to play with and coach Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. But it was in his time working for the league where he would make a difference that earned him hockey’s highest honour.
Campbell started as the NHL’s Senior Vice-President and Director of Hockey Operations shortly after he was done as the Rangers’ coach in July 1998. This position includes overseeing the operations centre that ensures every goal scored is legitimate, and working with the owners, coaches and managers.
The position initially included being the league’s chief disciplinarian, but that role was removed from his responsibilities in a reorganization.
“That’s a thankless job,” Campbell said of doling out discipline. “After 11 years, I told him (NHL President Gary Bettman) that’s enough.”
His position was renamed Senior Executive Vice-President of Hockey Operations, and Campbell oversees officials, NHL central scouting, and the league’s situation room. He also deals with team owners and general managers. Located in Toronto, the situation room has 15 cameras in every arena in the league and staff watching each game.
“Every goal goes in the net; we make sure it’s a good goal,” he said. When referees go to the side in a game and are in discussion, they are talking to Campbell and his team.
Part of the oversight of the league is done by Campbell from his home in Tillsonburg. His office has five screens, and he is in direct contact with the situation room in Toronto through two cameras in that facility.
“We just talk all night long. They can put the camera on one screen live, or two screens live,” he said of contentious situations.
Still, he is in Toronto three or four nights per week, and also on the road to NHL headquarters in New York City or to another centre.
Initially, Campbell thought he would stay with the league for a couple of years. He had coaching offers from four teams and later two general manager offers. He spoke of a positive working relationship with Bettman as one thing that kept him with the league. The other was family. Campbell gave credit to Bettman for prioritizing that Campbell be there for important family events.
“The reason I didn’t go back to a team as a coach or general manager is it’s a different busy (with the league). I missed a lot of Halloweens as a player,” he said. “In this job, I can be there. I just have a phone attached to my ear all the time. Gary Bettman is a great boss. He’s loyal and a big-time family man.”
Saying he is fortunate his family is nearby, Campbell said he can watch the big events in his grandchildren’s lives. His daughter Courtney lives in Burlington and is a lawyer. Lauren is a teacher and head of nutrition for NHL officials. Gregory, who had a career in the NHL, now lives in Kitchener and is the assistant general manager for Florida Panthers.
“It’s flexible enough I could watch my son’s career through junior and then watch him play in the NHL,” Campbell recounted.
Campbell credited his wife, Heather, for support throughout his career.
“I don’t think I could have done this job without the support of Heather,” he said. “At the same time, you have to raise a family and deal with family issues.”
Staying with the league meant good times and bad. One of the more challenging times was during the lockout in 2004-2005. Campbell saw the break as an opportunity to fix the game of hockey.
“If it’s not right on Lake Lisgar, it’s not right in Maple Leaf Gardens or Madison Square Gardens,” Campbell said. “You can’t hook a guy.”
He wanted to return hockey to its purest form, so he introduced several rules to limit hooking and interference and allow more offense in the game.
“We need to get back to the purest form of hockey, playing hockey on Lake Lisgar,” Campbell said.
The changes made changed the game in the NHL and reverberated through hockey play around the world.
When Campbell started with the league, a goal or penalty challenge meant a VHS tape had to be driven or flown to Toronto for his review. As technology developed, he oversaw the building of the situation room. The NBA, MLB, and NFL have all checked out the situation room when creating something for their leagues.
“They wanted to know what we were doing, wanted to look at it,” Campbell said.
Building the situation room, leading the league on rule changes, and dedication to hockey were cited as reasons for Campbell’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In his role with the NHL, Campbell was on the selection committee for the Hockey Hall of Fame inductees for 15 years. He knows how tough it is to be selected. The selection committee comprises 18 members, and 14 votes are needed to be inducted.
“It’s an arduous process and a thorough process,” he said.
He was on a flight returning from watching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in Florida last June, when the announcement was made.
“I was in the air from 12:30 to 3:30,” he recalled. “I got the call as I was landing in Hamilton.”
Mike Gartner, chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee, and Lanny McDonald from the hall’s board called him after he landed.
“I joked, are you sure you’re not putting me in as a player,” he said. “It’s easier to get in as a player than a builder.”
There are currently 299 players in the Hall of Fame and 115 builders.
Locally, Campbell has influenced many young hockey players through the Colin Campbell Hockey School, held during the summer. Campbell recalled Chris Legein attending one of his early hockey schools.
“I’m up there,” he said, noting he no longer actively helps at the school and his daughter Heather has taken it over. “Chris was there at one of my first schools in ’72, and now he’s there watching his grandchildren.”
As for what’s next, at 71, Campbell said he’s not ready to retire yet, noting that Bettman is older than he is.
“I’m going 100 miles per hour; I don’t know if I can stop and go zero,” he said. “I need to first go halfway. It’s invigorating, I enjoy it.”
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