Welcome to the Bench: Andrew Campbell

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Thomas Waind Leave a comment

Born: 5/11/1988 (28 years old) Caledonia ON, Canada
Drafted: 3rd round (74th overall) in 2008 by Los Angeles Kings
Teams: Los Angeles Kings (2013-14), Arizona Coyotes (2014-15)
Position: Defense
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 206 lbs
Shoots: Left
HockeyDB Profile

The Call-Up
Thursday, March 31 the Maple Leafs call up Andrew Campbell, Tobias Lindberg, Kasperi Kapanen and TJ Brennan and sent down Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, Rinat Valiev, and Connor Carrick.

What he brings to the team

It’s always cool when an Ontario boy suits up for his hometown Leafs. With the season lost and the AHL playoffs approaching, the Leafs are starting to send down their prospects in order to gear up for the Marlies’ playoff run. As the NHL season winds to a close, the Leafs are calling up their minor league journey men as a sort of reward for their patience and service.

Babcock says plan was always to reward some older Marlies (Brennan, Campbell) with a late-season call-up

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 31, 2016

Caledonia’s Andrew Campbell has spent the entirety of the 2015-16 captaining a very young Toronto Marlies team. Affectionately referred to as “Soupy”, Campbell is a calming and steady presence on a team of young, fast, exciting prospects. He plays a very solid game on both ends, but his low ceiling has left him as a bit piece through the first eight years of his pro career. He certainly adds leadership and character which is key for this young Leafs team. It has been announced that he has been named the Marlies’ winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Toronto community.

Why he’s on the Bench

Campbell on constant drying of board in front of him: "I like a damp feeling on my gloves, always water on the dash so I keep damp that way"

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 1, 2016

Ew.

Campbell has been great for the Marlies this year. He has captained the young Marlies to the top of the AHL standings, and has put up an impressive 23 points in 65 games with an eye-popping +39.

That plus-minus is high enough to get Don Cherry a little bit frisky. But beyond the numbers, the harsh reality is that Campbell is what he is, which is an 8th to 10th defenseman on most NHL depth charts. He has decent skills across the board but just doesn’t excel at any one thing. The Leafs knew that their Marlies blue line was going to be pretty green this year, and identified Campbell as a guy to help bring them along. Enjoy the story. Enjoy the guy. It just isn’t going to last that long.