Is Jack Campbell a bust
 

This guy just keeps giving us reasons to think that he wont live up to to goalie expectations. Can we call this kid a bust yet. I dont think he has chance to make the Stars roster anytime soon.

He's 20 and he plays on a terrible team...

Wayyyy too early to say.

He has 5 more years until we'll actually know.

In my mind he has a pretty steep hill to climb not to be a bust. We basically gave up James Neal to draft him, and not only being the first goalie, but the first American drafted puts a pretty heavy weight on his shoulders.

When you put it that way, which I dont think is 100% unfair, its pretty sad. As much as I like Goligoski, I do think taking a Dman with that pick rather than Campbell sends us on a totally different path on which it is fair to guess that we dont trade Neal. Of course on that path we may not have gotten Oleksiak either.

But then again, we could have McNeill instead of Oleksiak.

Very true although people seem to be a bit down on McNeil right now.

No...He hasn't even played a single game of professional hockey, all the junior teams he has been on have horrible defensively, as well as run and gun systems.

The excuse that the teams he plays on are terrible defensively is beginning to wear thin. Shouldn't we be talking about how Campbell is elevating these teams with his own play and wallpapering over defensive shortcomings?

No such thing as a goalie carrying a team in junior.

We'll see what he does next year.

This. Even the best junior goalies can't carry their team.

I didn't say carry, I said elevate.

For a goalie to elevate his junior team, there needs to be at least a decent defense and a system that allows that defense to operate in an efficient manner. Campbell hasn't had that in Windsor or Sault St Marie.

To be fair, most of the people who actually watch says he does elevate the team. Every comment is pretty much he was the best guy on the ice, and it would have been significantly worse if he wasn't playing.

The Goalie Guild is a rejected goalie guy, and he was one of those people not phased by his stats.

Alright. But I can already hear people blaming the Cedar Park defense next year.

fwiw his GAA is almost an entire goal lower than the other goalie on his team :dunno:

Way to early to call the guy a bust. He's still a junior goalie playing on a junior hockey team, most goalies are into their mid twenties by the time the develop. Look at guys like Jimmy Howard who is 27, guys like Price haven't even reached their full potential yet and he's 24. I think if he comes into the AHL next year and starts around half the games and does well he's going to be fine.

It can be much harder to be a goalie in juniors and the minors than it is in the NHL.

Yeah .... I was still on my phone when I posted this.

Rejected should be respected.

Just for example .... Nick Ebert was considered one of the best defensive prospects available in one of the best defensive drafts (2012) in a while as recently as last season. ISS still was listing him Top 10 at the beginning of the year.

He played with Campbell in Windsor, and this year he's struggled mightily. To start the year he just wasn't scoring, but his defensive stats looked ago. In the 2nd half of the season, his scoring has picked up, but his defensive play has fallen apart.

Once a top draft prospect, he's fallen to the 2nd and even 3rd round in some people's eyes (similar to Brandon Saad).

I've read several articles that claim his early season defensive play was nothing more than the Jack Campbell effect, and his play in his own zone is more accurate for the type of player he's been this year.

I will admit that I was a bit worried about Campbell. I think that's natural when most of us in Texas aren't getting to watch OHL games. When a guy like the Goalie Guild is endorsing him though ... I listen. That guy has a better opinion than my ability to read a stat line. Plus, scouts are obviously picking up on Campbell's effect on D prospects in this draft.

Love that you brought up Ebert, I didn't even think of that. Ebert was at least decent defensively when Campbell was still there, but now he's atrocious, seems like half the goals Windsor lets in can be traced back to him in some way.

OT but I used to think maybe we should take a flyer on him with one of our second rounders but no way now.

The Goalie Guild is probably the best place to go for anything goalie related, period.

If Ebert's there in the 3rd round, I'd risk it. Kind of a Kabanov type pick, I suppose.

Besides, if it's a Campbell effect, and we've got both of them... :naughty:

I agree with the others! It is to early to make to tell! However, if we need a shutdown defenseman or that top forward and trade is the only course and that team needs a goalie prospect, Campbell should be available.

When Ed Belfour turned 20, he just finished his season with the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He finished with a GAA of 4.41 in 34 games.

I know Campbell is a high pick and people are expecting bigger things as he progresses, but like BigG44 says - watching him play and getting info from someone who knows what's up means more than just reading some stats online or in the paper. Like most are saying here though, it's too early to really give him a label other than "work in progress".

Besides, he gave me the blocker he used in this years WJrs so he CANT be a bust :yo: