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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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 l ...

who was drafted first overall by the Houston Aeros of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

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

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, but grew up in

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

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 ...

, 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 (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) in the

1977 NHL amateur draft The 1977 NHL amateur draft was the 15th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. It was notable for the inclusion of players being drafted at 20 years of age. This was the only draft in which the Cleveland Bar ...

. 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 Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

, 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.https://www.nhl.com/player/morris-lukowich-8448912 He was a member of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the National Hockey ...

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 an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

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

asthma Asthma is a common 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 wh ...

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, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

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 Ice hockey people from Guelph Ice hockey people from Toronto London Knights players NHL 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 20th-century Canadian sportsmen World Hockey Association first-overall draft picks Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States