Gary Scott Campbell (June 22, 1957 – September 3, 2022) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who was drafted first overall by the Houston Aeros of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) in the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft. Campbell was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, but grew up in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

Playing career

After a stellar junior career with the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

, Campbell was selected first overall by the Houston Aeros of the

(WHA) in the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft, as well as ninth overall by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) in the 1977 NHL amateur draft. Campbell opted to join the Aeros. Campbell played 149 WHA games for the Aeros and the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

, and came to the NHL with the Jets when they joined that league in 1980. He and

Morris Lukowich Morris Eugene Lukowich (born June 1, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was a member of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1985, and later played fo ...

were the two players protected by the Jets from the

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America. ...

, showing the faith the team had in his abilities. However, the cold weather in Winnipeg exacerbated a chronic

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

condition and he requested a trade after a season there. The asthma condition ultimately forced him into retirement at the age of 25 after briefly also playing for the

Post hockey

After retiring from professional hockey, Campbell became involved in

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

and found success as a stable owner. He died on September 3, 2022, from cancer.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Scott 1957 births 2022 deaths Canadian ice hockey defencemen Houston Aeros (WHA) players Houston Aeros draft picks Sportspeople from Guelph Ice hockey people from Toronto London Knights players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players Winnipeg Jets (WHA) players World Hockey Association first-overall draft picks Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States