Capitals restock prospect cupboard
Western Capitals select Jude Campbell with team’s first pick of Maritime junior draft
SUMMERSIDE – It was a phone call Jude Campbell did not want to miss.
The 16-year-old rightwinger from Mermaid was in the middle of listening to legendary University of New Brunswick Reds head coach and Bedeque native Gardiner MacDougall talk about goalsetting at a camp in Fredericton, N.B., when he felt his phone ring in his pocket.
Campbell checked his phone and saw the incoming call was from Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals head coach Billy McGuigan.
“I asked if I could take the call,” Campbell told the SaltWire Network in a phone interview following the draft. “Billy told me they drafted me. I was really excited and kind of had chills.”
Campbell’s agent and MacDougall’s son, Taylor MacDougall, organized the weekend camp.
“Basically, there are 16 of us on the ice,” said Campbell. “It is a small group but competitive group of ’04s, ’05s, ’06s, ’07s.
“It’s a great experience being on the ice. You get to feel what it’s like to battle in the corners against (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) defencemen.”
Campbell, who was taken at the end of the second round, was the Capitals’ first pick, 24th overall, in the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) Entry Draft on July 10. Overall, the Capitals selected eight players – two goaltenders, two defencemen and four forwards. The Caps announced Kensington Wild goaltender Kiefer Thompson of Summerside as a territorial pick on July 5.
“All of our picks played on P.E.I., either with the (Kensington) Wild, (Charlottetown) Knights or the Mount (Academy),” said Caps general manager Pat McIver. “We got to see them lots last year. We were fortunate to get in lots of hockey. We were familiar with them all, and we like our draft.”
P.E.I. TALENT
Twenty-three players who played on Prince Edward Island during the 2020-21 season were drafted by MHL teams. Those players played with the Mount Academy under-17 team, the Knights and Wild major under-18 programs and the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
“On P.E.I., we were able to play,” said Kenny MacDougall, director of hockey at the Charlottetown-based Mount Academy. “We hosted an Island Cup, we hosted a
“I asked if I could take the call. Billy told me they drafted me. I was really excited and kind of had chills.”
Jude Campbell
COVID Cup and worked hard to host events and were able to get major under-18 teams (Knights and Wild) on P.E.I. involved, which was great.
“We had a chance to showcase our kids, which was great. Also, another key was videotaping our games and sending them out to teams. COVID forced us to rethink things a little bit, and to have our games videotaped and broadcast and send them out helps showcase your players.”
It was a big day for the Mount Academy under-17 team, which had 12 players taken in the draft. MacDougall credited director of men’s hockey Olivier Filion and his assistant, Cody Anthony, for that accomplishment.
“They have done a great job recruiting and developing student-athletes,” said MacDougall. “I think we had 12 (drafted) in the Quebec league draft, too.”
NUMBERS
The right-handed-shooting Campbell, who stands sixfoot-one and weighs 195 pounds, played the 2020-21 season with the Knights. He had five goals and two assists for seven points in eight regular-season games in the New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island Major Under-18 Hockey League.
The Rimouski Oceanic recently drafted Campbell in the third round, 50th overall, in the QMJHL draft. Campbell will attend the Oceanic’s rookie camp in mid-August.
He said that will determine what players move on to the main training camp.
Campbell said if things don’t work out in Rimouski, he is excited to attend the Caps’ camp.
“It’s a really good opportunity for me because I know they are hosting the Fred Page Cup (Eastern Canadian junior A hockey championship),” he said.
“It’s something that I’ll be talking about with my agent and my family.”
STYLE OF PLAY
Asked to describe his style, Campbell said he can score goals, create offence, make plays when needed and bring physicality.
“I’m kind of an all-around power forward who can bring energy every shift,” he said.
Knights head coach Luke Beck said Campbell is a big, strong, powerful winger who can score.
“He has great compete and a great passion for the game and only continues to get better.”