Oxford County Local into the HHOF

Tuesday, 12 November 2024 11:04

Photo Credit: Hockey Hall of Fame Website

It was a great day for Tillsonburg native Colin Campbell as he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

TILLSONBURG/TORONTO - Colin Campbell will now forever live as a hockey legend after being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Last night the ceremony took place in Toronto and Campbell was one of 7 in the 2024 Class to take their place in hockey history forever. Campbell was born in London on January 28, 1953 in London, but was raised in Tillsonburg. He played Junior C hockey with the Tillsonburg Tigers and continued his Junior career with the Peterborough TPT Petes in Junior A. He was then drafted in the 2nd round of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins and also by the Vancouver Blazers in the 1st round of the WHA Amateur Draft. He went on to play one season with the Blazers before moving on to play 11 seasons in the NHL. He spent time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Rockies, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings.

Campbell finished his playing career and went into coaching, where he was hired as the assistant coach for Detroit. He served in that role from the 1985-86 season until the 1989-90 season. He then spent two seasons as the assistant coach for the New York Rangers before getting sent to the Rangers' AHL team in Binghamton as the Head Coach. He returned to the NHL with the Rangers for the 1993-94 season and went on to win the Stanley Cup. Campbell was promoted to the Head Coaching role and was there from 1994-95 until mid February 1998.

That wasn't the last stop for Campbell, as he stayed with the NHL but moved into the role of Senior Vice-President and Director of Hockey Operations for the NHL. That role had him assessing suspensions and fines, being in daily contact with the NHL Players' Association, the NHL Governors, General Managers and Head Coaches. During his time as an executive he helped make the game safer and faster, which allowed more skill to come into the game and still be entertaining for the fans. He was also behind the creation of a centralized video review location, which is known as the 'Situation Room' where NHL's Hockey Operations is able to follow every game. This creation sparked change in other sports as other leagues have come up with the same kind of concept.

The Town of Tillsonburg renamed the Community Arena to the Colin Campbell Community Arena in 2004. Campbell has been inducted into the Hall of Fame in the Builder Category.