Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
Duncan Campbell takes part in the Midget AAA Wheat Kings training camp on Saturday afternoon at the Sportsplex. (COLIN CORNEAU/BRANDON SUN)
Duncan Campbell began playing hockey as a goaltender before coming to the conclusion that scoring goals was more fun than giving them up.
The Brandon Midget AAA Wheat Kings are counting on Campbell to have a lot of fun this season.
The rangy winger, who turns 16 on Tuesday, is projected to be a key contributor for the Wheat Kings after a standout rookie season with the club last winter.
"I’m pumped. I couldn’t wait for camp to start," Campbell said after taking part in a Midget AAA Wheat Kings training camp scrimmage on Saturday at the Sportsplex. "… I think it will be a great year. We have a chance to go to (the Telus Cup western regional championship) I think and just do really well."
Campbell had 16 goals and 35 points in 39 games last season and is part of a talented trio of second-year midgets, including Tyler Coulter and Brett Kitt, who occupied three of the top six spots in team scoring.
It’s top-notch returnees such as those three, plus an impressive incoming crop of 15-year-olds, that have the Wheat Kings so optimistic about their upcoming season in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League. While the youngsters proved they could play last season, head coach Ken Schneider said now it’s up to Campbell and the others to grow as leaders as well.
"(Returning as veterans) does put onus on them to be leaders and to take on that role," Schneider said. "And they’re going to get pushed by these 15-year-olds, which is good. That’s what you want in camp is to have that competition."
Campbell has plenty he wants to work on in his game as well. He’d like to pick up the pace of his game and improve his play away from the puck, while adding some muscle to his 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame.
As good as Campbell is now, Schneider believes the youngster still has plenty of untapped potential.
"He’s a pretty good player and the Western Hockey League is watching him closely (as a Prince George Cougars prospect), but I think Dunc has a lot of upside yet and there’s lots of room for growth for Dunc," Schneider said. "… Because he skates well and he’s a big guy, I kinda compare him to (former Midget Wheat King) Carson Perreaux. A couple years ago we got Carson on the track where he understood that if he took the puck to the net more and with some determination, that he could be that much more effective and he scored some goals. …I think Dunc is a lot like that in that he could challenge the defenders a lot more."
Perreaux blossomed into a WHLer last season with the Prince Albert Raiders and Campbell hopes to follow the major junior path as well, having recently returned from Prince George’s training camp where he took part in the team’s intrasquad game.
"I had a lot more confidence going there," Campbell said of his second camp with the Cougars, who added him to their protected list in 2011. "I knew what to expect, I knew the people there, I knew the staff and what was going to go on, and it was a lot of fun."
» rhenders@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition September 10, 2012
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Duncan Campbell began playing hockey as a goaltender before coming to the conclusion that scoring goals was more fun than giving them up.
The Brandon Midget AAA Wheat Kings are counting on Campbell to have a lot of fun this season.
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Duncan Campbell began playing hockey as a goaltender before coming to the conclusion that scoring goals was more fun than giving them up.
The Brandon Midget AAA Wheat Kings are counting on Campbell to have a lot of fun this season.
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