A lot has been made of the young, exciting Toronto Marlies. Run by Maple Leafs Assistant General Manager, Kyle Dubas, the Marlies are flush with dynamic prospects who are being groomed for the NHL, along with a mix of veteran talent.  Last season’s Marlies were an offensive juggernaut, finishing atop the AHL standings with 114 points, while leading the league with 294 goals.  It should come as no surprise with a roster stacked with young talent such as William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Connor Brown, Brendan Leipsic, and Kasperi Kapanen, just to name a few.  With all of this flash and sizzle, some players are bound to be lost in the shuffle. One name that is not given nearly enough credit, with his calming and steady presence patrolling the blue line, is Marlies captain, Andrew Campbell.

Known to teammates and coaches affectionately as “Soupy”, Campbell has owned this goofy moniker since his junior days with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). “I’m unsure of who gave it to me,” Campbell recalls. “I guess if your name is Campbell in any professional sport you tend to pick up the nickname.”

Campbell really appreciated his time in ‘the Soo’. “I loved it. I still love that city. I’ve gone back multiple times since playing there. It’s such a great place to play. The city really embraces the team.”

By his third season of junior, Campbell was a fixture on the Greyhounds’ blue line.  During the 2007-08 season he racked up 35 points while playing his signature shut down game.  As a team, they finished the regular season with a 44-18-6 record (their best result since 1985) and advanced to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Kitchener Rangers.

“That playoff run was the highlight of my OHL career. We had a good team and made a run for it. Unfortunately we ran into another great team in Kitchener. But the way the whole city got behind us during that playoff run was really cool.”

At the close of the 2007-08 season, Campbell once again had his sights set on the NHL Entry Draft. After a strong final season in the OHL, he put himself in a good position to finally get drafted at the age of 20. “I was a late bloomer and got drafted my third time being eligible. I went into Ottawa knowing what to expect this time around. I had met with Mike Futa from the Los Angeles Kings, who at the time was one of their amateur scouts. Before the draft I had interviewed with General Manager Dean Lombardi and it was apparent that there was some interest there. It was just so cool to finally hear my name called. It’s something I’ll always remember.”

Campbell would be drafted by Lombardi’s Los Angeles Kings in the third round of the 2008 NHL draft. As an older prospect, Campbell was immediately shuttled to LA’s American Hockey League affiliate in Manchester, where he would get his first taste of professional hockey. While a lot is made of the growth needed for a player’s on-ice play while transitioning from junior to pro, the change in off-ice lifestyle made a more profound impact on Andrew.  “In junior you’re going to school. You’re living with billets who take you under their roof and cook for you along with their own children. The biggest adjustment was moving on. In the pro game, you’re on your own. You’re responsible for your own bills and taking care of yourself.”

Fortunately for Campbell, he was under the guidance of Manchester defensive development coach Mike O’Connell. Andrew cites O’Connell as one of his strongest role models during his time in professional hockey. “I remember watching countless hours of game tape and video with him,” Campbell elaborates. “He did a great job of supporting the young defensemen there. He went to battle for us to make sure that we were all getting better.”

While adjusting to the speed and physicality of the professional game, Campbell had to look no further than within the Kings organization for great examples to help model his game. “When I was growing up as a young pro in the Kings’ system, LA had Rob Scuderi, Matt Greene, Willie Mitchell, and Robyn Reghr. All four players were obviously different, but they all had attributes that I’d watch and model my game after. Playing with them in training camps and watching them in the playoffs, they were four guys that I’d keep a close eye on. I have tried to incorporate some of their game into what I bring to the ice.”

A victim of the organizational depth on the Los Angeles blue line, Campbell would go on to play five seasons with Manchester without a single minute of NHL ice time. Finally on April 5, 2014, in the midst of his sixth professional hockey season, Soupy got the call he had been waiting for.

“It was a long journey. I had played over 400 AHL games before I got my first shot. The way I found out was a little bit stressful. The Kings were playing in Vancouver, but Manchester was supposed to play the day before at home, so I was back at my apartment in the afternoon for my pre-game nap. I had my phone on silent and was sleeping when Kings management was trying to contact me. One of our trainers eventually came banging on my door and broke the news. I had to get hustling to the airport. I had to get a car from Manchester to Boston, then flew from Boston to Montreal. I then had to grab a flight from Montreal to Vancouver to get there in time for the game the next day. It all happened so quick. Although it was a long and taxing journey, it was definitely worth it.”

Campbell would play three games for the Kings as the 2013-14 season wound down. But unlike most rookies, he was 26 years old with hundreds of AHL games under his belt, and wasn’t as star-struck as most. “I had already played with a lot of the guys in the NHL as they had graduated through the American Hockey League so it wasn’t as big of a leap. I already had a fair bit of pro hockey experience under my belt so the experience was a bit different for me as a 26 year-old than it would be for an 18 or 19 year-old kid.”

The following offseason, Campbell would parlay his experience in the Kings organization into a two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes. While the change of scenery offered a better shot at earning NHL playing time, it was not easy to leave the Los Angeles Kings. “I owe that organization a great deal,” Campbell reflects. “They gave me my first opportunity and really helped me grow as a player and as a person. But at that point, after 6 years, I was ready to move on to a situation where I felt I had an opportunity to play more NHL games. I just wanted a shot to crack a regular NHL lineup so that’s why I chose Arizona that summer.”

The 2014-15 season was spent splitting time between the Coyotes and their AHL affiliate in Portland. Campbell got his longest stint of NHL action playing in 33 games with the Coyotes that season. “It was great to get my feet wet and stay up for an extended period of time. It’s good to establish a routine, especially when you see the difference between (the AHL and NHL) schedules. In the AHL there are times that you play two or three games in a weekend, followed by three or four days off.  In the NHL you’re constantly going. Just getting used to that different scheduling was a major adjustment. Playing in Arizona was a great experience for me.”

Following his year with the Coyotes, Campbell once again found himself a free agent. After some searching, Campbell’s new hockey home would turn out to be a homecoming of sorts. The Caledonia native would be returning to Southern Ontario to play in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

It wouldn’t take long for Soupy to fit in either. In his first training camp with the Toronto Marlies, Campbell had quickly established himself as a leader in the dressing room and was awarded the team’s captaincy. The magnitude of this decision was not lost on him, “It was a tremendous honour to be named captain of the team. Especially after coming from a new organization and never being around the guys that were here before. It was a huge honour.”

Although he will admit that he isn’t the loudest guy on the team, Campbell seeks to set an example for the younger players through his work ethic and play. “I like to lead by example. Show up to the rink everyday with the right work ethic and attitude. Show the young guys how it’s done. If something needs to be said, I say it. That being said, I try not to speak too much. If I need to, I’ll pull people aside and talk to them one-on-one. If someone needs help or advice, I try to help them any way that I can.”

While he has led multiple teams in captain roles, Campbell has also helped to lead his players beyond the ice by serving as his team’s Alternate Player Representative for the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA). “I think the PHPA does a tremendous job. They put every resource that we need or may need at our fingertips. They do a great job of supporting the players. If anything ever comes up, they have the resources right there to assist and help.”

Following a 2015-16 season in which the Marlies dominated the AHL, Campbell received some individual recognition from his peers when he was voted as the AHL Eastern Conference’s Best Defensive Defenseman through the PHPA Player Voted Awards program. “I take pride in playing hard defensively and doing whatever it takes to prevent goals from going in our net, so it was nice to be recognized for my defensive play,” said Campbell.  “It’s always something special when your fellow peers, the people that you compete against night after night recognize you.”

As expectations within the Maple Leafs organization are now higher than ever, Campbell appears to be up to the task of leading this young Marlies team once again.  The off-season was full of work from his standpoint. After recovering from an injury, Campbell put in countless hours working with renowned skating coach Barb Underhill and skills coach Mike Ellis.

At age 28, Soupy is still looking for ways to improve. “You can’t get complacent. You can’t take your foot off the pedal. I’m really excited for this season. As a team I hope to not lose a beat in the regular season and build off and make an improvement in the playoffs.  I hope we come home with a championship this time.”