The Everett Silvertips decided Brandon Campos wasn’t a part of their plans.
But Campos has landed on his feet just fine.
Considered excess to Everett’s needs, Campos has since found a home in Chilliwack, where he’s thriving far more than he ever did for Everett.
Since joining Chilliwack after being waived by Everett early in the season, the 20-year-old forward has become an offensive force, racking up 11 goals and 14 assists in 20 games for the Bruins.
And Campos is happy with the way everything worked out.
“Things are going unreal for me so far,” Campos said before Sunday’s meeting between the two teams in Chilliwack. “I got pretty lucky.”
Campos arrived in Everett at the beginning of last season with the reputation of a big-time scorer from the British Columbia Hockey League. He gave up a scholarship to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to join the Tips and was expected to be an impact offensive contributor.
But that never materialized as he had just 10 goals and 14 assists in 67 games last season and was relegated primarily to fourth-line duties.
This season Campos was one of six players vying for Everett’s three overage spots. When Dan Gendur, Dane Crowley and Ondrej Fiala all returned from professional tryouts, Campos was one of the odd men out.
“I was kind of hoping my buddies would make it with their pro teams,” Campos said. “For them it would be benficial, but for me as well because then I would have gotten a chance to play in Everett and prove myself for one more year. But things didn’t work out that way. Gendur, Crowley, Fiala came back, they’re all great players and deserve to be there. It was just my end of the luck that I was left out.”
The Tips tried to trade Campos, but found no takers and were forced to waive him. However, the day after Campos was waived Ken Petkau retired from the Bruins, opening up an overage spot. Chilliwack decided to claim Campos and has reaped the benefits.
So why have things worked out for Campos better in Chilliwack than in Everett?
“I think it’s been getting more opportunity,” Campos said. “There were certain guys on Everett who had their names set in stone on certain ice times and power-play units. I respect the coaches and their decisions, they know what’s best for their team. Coming here I found I had my name on those opportunities and I’ve benefitted from it.
“I thought coming to Everett I was going to get all those opportunities,” Campos added. “The way I was talking to (former coach) Kevin Constantine before signing with Everett I felt like I was going to, and it kind of just never came around. Now coming to Chilliwack, it’s been the best move for my hockey career.”
Around the WHL: The NHL Central Scouting Bureau came out with its preliminary rankings for the 2008 draft. Everett left wing Kyle Beach was the top-ranked skater from the WHL. No other Everett player was listed among the 25 skaters and seven goaltenders. … The rich got richer when Vancouver signed center 19-year-old Casey Pierro-Zabotel. Pierro-Zabotel, a third-round pick in the 2007 NHL draft, was slated to attend Michigan Tech University, but did not qualify academically. … Spokane acquired out-of-favor 18-year-old defenseman Luke Betts from Red Deer in exchange for 18-year-old left wing Cody Esposito. … Red Deer also shipped 17-year-old defenseman Zak Stebner to Prince Albert in exchange for 18-year-old goaltender David Aime. … Portland hired former WHL and NHL player Mark Janssens to serve as hockey operations consultant. … Spokane left wing Drayson Bowman was named the WHL Player of the Week. Bowman had six goals and two assists as the Chiefs went 3-0.
League leaders: Points — Mark Santorelli (Chilliwack) 40; goals — Oscar Moller (Chilliwack) 21; assists — Santorelli 33; penalty minutes — Benn Olson (Seattle) 99; wins — Tyson Sexsmith (Vancouver) 17; goals against average — Dustin Tokarski (Spokane) 1.73; save percentage — Steven Stanford (Prince Albert) .924.
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