Archive

Leaving the ice for the last time

April 25, 2013   ·   0 Comments

If there’s one negative thing about a sports career, it’s that it doesn’t last a long time.

Some players cruise through their time in Junior hockey enjoying what they do and have fun playing the game, others pack as much into those few short years as they can.

When the Alliston Hornets lost their last game of the season to the Picton Pirates on April 10, Hornets right-winger Mike Campeau also played his last game as a Junior level player.

After six years on the squad, Campeau finally hit the age limit and retires this season – if you can call it retirement at age 21 – but that’s the limit in Junior hockey.

He became one of the players to watch, by both the fans in the stands, and opponents in the Georgian Mid Ontario Junior C Hockey League, who knew #28 was dangerous when he got near the net or when Campeau and line-mate Randy Cox were paired up and bearing down on a goalie who had a good chance of being beat when Campeau sniped for the back of the net.

“I played on the York Simcoe Express and North Central Predators, then back to the TNT Tornados for a year,” Campeau said of his start in hockey. “I played my first year on the Hornets as an AP.”

His older brother Jason, also a well known former Hornet, was also on the team at the time.

“I was playing with my brother Jason,” Campeau said, “He would motivate me as much as anyone to be my best. Jason and Kyle McDowell (former player and current assistant coach) would push me to my potential and make me the player I am.”

His first year on the team as an AP was the first year the Hornets won the Provincial championship in 2008.

“I remember that like it was yesterday. I was the youngest guy on the team but probably the most excited, I was the first guy over the bench when we won. That first championship – you’re away from home – and it’s our time. You just can’t describe it.”

Former Hornets’ head coach Darrin Shannon, who still is involved with the team, and was coaching when Campeau came on board, said he knew Campeau was going to do big things.

“He was scoring big goals as a 16 year-old,” Shannon said, recalling a particularly hot goal during a playoff game in a series with the Walkerton Hawks. “His first season he was probably third line and got 20 goals. He always produced at a really high level.”

Campeau described himself as the “go to guy” during his third year in the league – a time when he rose to the top of the points standings.

“You have the younger guys looking up to you, but at the same time I was still looking up to the older guys on the team.”

That season – 2010 – he topped the GMOHL points totals notching 77 points. That’s 43 goals and 34 assists after 42 regular season games.

He played a short season in 2010 / 2011 because of other obligations, but then returned for 2011 / 2012 and scored 48 points after 35 games.

He really did go out in a blaze of glory in his final season by leading the GMOHL in both points and total number of goals.

He ended the 2012 / 2013 regular season with 93 points – 40 goals and 53 assists – that’s at least one goal every game. Fans came to rely on #28 when the Hornets needed some to score.

His reputation preceded him in the playoffs and from the stands you could see players from other teams swarming around him knowing that if he got away with the puck, they were in trouble.

Campeau had offers from higher level leagues, but had no interest.

“I got calls from higher Junior teams but never pursued it. I wanted to play here with my brother and my buddies here in town.”

Sooner or later all good things come to and end, and his goal now is to look to the future and finish his apprenticeship with Hydro One. It’s a career that has taken him to Ottawa, Fenelon Falls, Orillia, and now back to Alliston.

“It does require a lot of dedication,” he said of playing Junior level hockey. “I’d never change the years I played here, This is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”

And so will the fans who always cheered the loudest when #28 had the puck and crossed the blue-line to make some opposing goalie really nervous.

By Brian Lockhart

Readers Comments (0)