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College men's hockey: Clarkson's Campbell looks to strengthen last season's numbers

cap carey, watertown daily times, n.y.
·4 min read

Sep. 29—POTSDAM — Alex Campbell emerged as one of the top offensive players in men's ECAC Hockey last season and the junior forward from Chateaugay, Quebec, is looking to do more this season.

Campbell led Clarkson in scoring last year with 16 goals and 17 assists in 37 games.

"He's had a good summer," Clarkson coach Casey Jones said of Campbell, "Last summer was the first chance the guys have had to lift (weights). He's continued to evolve and get stronger. The next step for him this year is consistency and being our go-to guy. He's setting the bar for us in practice."

Campbell produced four game-winning goals, scored six power-play goals and picked up one shorthanded goal.

Campbell also scored the only goal in a shootout win over St. Lawrence University last season in Appleton Arena, after the teams skated to a 4-4 tie.

"The first year was a little special with COVID, I think we played Colgate eight times," Campbell said. "I think last year was our first real year. I think right after Christmas (last season), you know it's a long season and those last two months are really important, especially for our class, having not played the playoffs and knowing how the PairWise (rankings) worked, how important the beginning of the season is, too. We know how important it is this year."

Campbell came to Clarkson with a lot of hype. He was drafted by the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators in the third round (65th overall) in 2019.

But, as he mentioned, Campbell did not have a normal first season, playing all his games in empty arenas mostly against Quinnipiac, Colgate and St. Lawrence University.

He still produced solid numbers with four goals and 13 assists in 22 games.

"I just tried to focus on doing the little things right and knowing things would turn out well," Campbell said. "I tried to outwork everyone, every day and get better. The biggest thing for me when I got here was the size and strength of everyone. Being here on my third year now, I've developed that. I feel a lot stronger."

Shootouts are not always popular with coaches, but Campbell has gotten better at them, highlighted by his winning goal last year at SLU.

"I lost the puck my freshman year against (Quinnipiac)," Campbell said of an early shootout. "Once you get that first one, you know what you are doing. You practice enough during the summer."

Clarkson had another good season last year, finishing 21-10-6 overall and 14-4-4 in ECAC Hockey, good for second place.

But, as Campbell mentioned, some first semester nonconference losses cost the Golden Knights a chance to be in the NCAA Tournament because it affected the team's PairWise Ranking, which is determined by scenarios like who a team beats or loses too, and their opponent's ranking.

"We have some good freshmen and returning guys," Campbell said. "We definitely have the team to (make the NCAA Tournament). We've looked great in this preseason. I'm happy with the work and improvement we've made in the preseason."

Campbell came to Clarkson with his brother, Charlie, who is about a year older. The two are close, even shared the same car, but Charlie, who played in nine games in two years, decided not to return this year.

"We talk all the time," Campbell said. "As long as he is happy, I'm happy. We are there to support each other. He made me the player I am today. Him always being older and better than me at stuff. It always pushed me. I don't want him to better than me, kind of that (brother) competition. Neither of us wanted to lose, we'd fight and get over it. I don't know if I'd be here without him."

CLARKSON OUTLOOK

The Golden Knights lost a few key players to graduation, including forwards Zach Tsekos (15 goals-16 assists), Jack Jacome (2-23) and defenseman Lukas Kaelble (7-15).

But as has been the case in the past four or five years the Golden Knights have reloaded with another strong recruiting class.

"I thought we came back in shape," Jones said. "We are going to try to get out of the gate here. We have some turnover with players and a lot of new faces here. It's exciting. We have some guys in good spots coming back, some vets who have produced. We will lean on them heavily out of the gate here. We have good size and depth at the forward position and depth on defense."

In addition to Campbell, the Golden Knights bring back Mathieu Gosselin (11-22), Ayrton Martino (7-22), Anthony Romano (15-13) and Noah Beck (5-17) as well as captain Anthony Callin, who scored four goals with 12 points in 21 games.

Massena native Jordan Robert is no longer with the team, but still has his scholarship. Robert struggled with injuries he picked up at the junior level and physically is unable to play at the NCAA Division I level.