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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE MEDIA CONFERENCEDecember 4, 2008Brian CampbellDAVID KEON: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm David Keon of the National Hockey League's public relations department and I'd like to welcome you to today's call. Our guest is Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, Brian Campbell. Thanks to Brian for joining us today and thanks to Brandon Faber of the Blackhawks' public relations department for setting up the call. On New Year's Day a month from now, the Blackhawks will meet the Detroit Red Wings for the 701st time their storied rivalry. More importantly, the game will be played outdoors at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. At 1:00 PM Eastern time, on NBC, CBC, RDS and NHL radio, the game will be the second regular-season outdoor game played in the United States, and the third outdoor game in National Hockey League history. On New Year's Day last year, Brian scored the Buffalo Sabres' lone goal in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in front of a league record 71,217 fans. With four goals and 13 assists for 17 points, 23 games this season, Brian sits eighth among NHL defenseman in scoring. His contribution has been most noticeable on the power play where Chicago are currently ranked seventh in the league after being ranked no higher than 20th in the past five seasons. With a record of 11-6-6 for 28 points, the Blackhawks sit second in the central division behind Detroit, who they will visit at the Joe Louis Arena on Saturday. Thanks to Brian for taking the time to join us and to answer questions. Q. As David mentioned, Chicago is greatly improved on the power play this year. I think you are seventh in the league; whereas, they have not been in the top 20 in several years. Could you could you talk about the effectiveness of the first unit, and talk about how the coaches worked in other partners with you on the point and what's been working the best. BRIAN CAMPBELL: Well, we struggled out of the gate the first couple of games on the power play. And I think even until we found the right mix, it took a while. So over the last, probably 15 games maybe, we started to click pretty good. So obviously it helps when Patty came, a year older and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp, has his confidence going. And obviously on the point, I've worked with -- we found to get on the right sides and everything with Cam Barker and myself on the one unit that we are using right now. So, you know, I think for us, we have been finding knowing our areas where to go and finding holes and we know all of our options out there, I think that's the biggest thing about a power play is to know where your options are at all times. For us, I don't even have to look in a lot of instances and I know where guys are going to be in what areas. You know, it's good. You need that to be a playoff team. You need to be up there in special teams in those areas. Q. Now, the other thing, that's the power play, but that five-on-five play, you've been matched a lot this year with Aaron Johnson, who is having the year of his life; he's tied for the league lead in plus/minus. Tell me about the chemistry that you two have, because an offensive defenseman needs a companion who watches his back; is that correct? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Yeah, unfortunately obviously Aaron is hurt right now and is going to be out for a number of games. But, you know, when we were playing together, I enjoyed it. You know, I didn't know anything really too much about Aaron before he got here. Obviously he was down in the minors for the first couple of games for the season and he came up here and fit in and I was able to play with him. Very easy to play with. I think that's a huge compliment that you can give any person when you play with them. And he was just that, very easy to play with, and you know, he was jumping up for the rush when I wasn't into the rush. Just kind of good chemistry like that, scoring some goals for us. You know, I think he's fit in well here and hopefully, I know he's been in Columbus and Long Island and hopefully he can find a home here, because he's definitely a person that can do good things at this level. Q. Talk about how the outdoor elements affect the game. BRIAN CAMPBELL: Well, it depends. If you're talking about the snow that we had in Buffalo, you know, I think it's a huge -- it can be a huge dilemma for your team. Last year, the snow that was on the ice, you could not honestly take a slap shot from one end to the other on the ice and get it all the way down there. At times, there's just so much snow. But both teams played with it, so that was the fun part about it. I don't think you could make as good of plays as you would have liked. Sometimes it was off the boards and out a lot of instances. Even their first goal, our guy tried to pass it and it didn't go as far as he thought it would and kind of stopped. You know, they came down. But we had fun with it when that was happening. I think the wind wasn't really a factor. And you know, I think this year, for the ice conditions, it's going to be even better, because I know the NHL has their own system now, and the weather, hopefully, cooperates. But they have had time and they have had a lot longer to be able to get into Wrigley. I think they are starting pretty soon here on the surface. It was fun. Like you can't paint a better picture, and hopefully this year, it's been promoted a lot more and fans know about it. You know, it's something that they can do on New Year's Day. The fans, they can watch it on TV and enjoy it, and live that kind of life of having our game outdoors. Q. How excited are you guys to be playing in this? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Well, obviously it's very exciting for a lot of the guys. I think in Buffalo last year, we were very excited, but it didn't start getting going until a week before. Obviously we have so many games on the schedule right now. You can't look ahead too much. But right now, it's trying to make sure you can get tickets for your family, and getting everybody to come in. But once it comes around, even the practice the day before, it's a thrill just to be walking out there and having some fun with everybody. And now, if you've ever been lucky enough to go to a Cubs game, you'll know the atmosphere; it will be like a playoff game around there for baseball. The atmosphere around the area of the streets, the tailgating, the bars, the restaurants, it's just going to be a huge joy for the whole city of Chicago and the whole National Hockey League and the hockey family to be able to embrace something and feel the excitement in January and not have to wait until April, May. Q. I wonder, you're going to meet a lot of Swedes in the Winter Classic; who would you say is the best Swede right now? BRIAN CAMPBELL: On that team? Q. Yes. BRIAN CAMPBELL: Even though Niclas Lidstrom is world-class, you almost have to say (Johan) Franzen. I think I just saw a stat the other day where he scored the most goals in the last 45 games or something. But, oohh, I don't know, he can -- Q. How is it meeting him? Can you describe meeting Franzen? BRIAN CAMPBELL: You know, he's a big body. He's a guy that obviously can shoot the puck and can hang on the pucks. Any time you play with other guys that are world-class, obviously it brings your level up just another notch. You know, I'm a huge fan of Lidstrom, obviously being a defenseman and an offensive defenseman; to be able to watch him out there is a joy for me. I try not to watch him too much, because he'll zip a pass by you or a shot by you. But they have got a lot of weapons out there -- and you know, Chicago had a lot of luck with them last year playing against them. This year, we played them, one game so far, we went into OT. You know, we had the lead in the game, which was the frustrating part. But our team is a young team that gets fired up, and we are trying to -- you want to compete against the best and we are trying to win those games now. Q. Who would you say is the best you have played against? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Well, obviously those guys -- I played more in the East, so I played against Alfredsson a lot more, who I think all-around is unbelievable. That's probably the case that I have played against those guys more, a guy like him in the playoffs and everything so much, compared to what I played against Detroit. Q. Just want to go back a little bit in your career, and I remember during the lockout, prior to that with the Sabres, you were kind of up-and-down, you would be scratched a lot down in Rochester. What changed after the lockout? Was it just a matter of the NHL bringing in rules that would let the skill survive a little bit more? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Honestly, I think that helped. I don't think -- I'm a person that I think I could have done well with the old rules or the no two-line passing. That's my opinion. It's about confidence, a lot of it. You know, it's tough when you're in the lineup one game and you feel like you're playing well for a stretch, and then you're out of the lineup. You know, you're not finding the right partner to play with or you're just not fitting in. So it was very frustrating. The lockout, it allowed me to play a lot. I went over to Finland and played for a team called Jokerit and had a lot of fun. It's a whole 'nother year in your growth, even though you are not playing in the NHL, that league over there is a very, very good league. You know, that's a whole 'nother year of growth that you have. I came back, and I was still finding a way to get into the lineup a little bit. But finally a found a partner and a role that I was going to be involved in, and over time, that role has just kept on getting bigger. Q. It seems at the same time, the Sabres saw that confidence and Lindy Ruff said, oh, this guy can play some hockey and started giving you more responsibility. BRIAN CAMPBELL: Yeah, he was good. Obviously I think getting into the playoffs that year, it was frustrating with all of the injuries that we had, and for me it was an opportunity for me to play even more minutes at some of the highest hockey that you can play out there. So that was exciting for me to get those opportunities and to get more confidence and to grow. You know, you always like as a player and a young player, that you should be playing at that level and have all these minutes and everything. I do give a lot of credit to what Lindy has done with me and how he worked with me, and obviously Darcy Regier, as well. They are patient in what they do. But they know what's best, because they have been around for a while. So they taught me a lot throughout my whole career so far. Q. Final question on that. At the time when you are going through that sort of struggle of being in the lineup, out of the lineup, did you ever foresee a day when you would be one of the most sought-after free agents as you were this past summer? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Never. Honestly, I question myself too much, and a little bit even to this day and sometimes. I think it's something that I think I've always worked hard when I wasn't playing, I worked hard in practice and after practice and asked for more help. I think it all comes back to that, and how you work and your work ethic to get to where you want to get to. And believe me, I didn't know I was going to be in the league that much longer when I was going through those tough times in Buffalo. Q. I guess some of that came out of junior as well, you had a pretty good coach there. BRIAN CAMPBELL: Yeah, definitely, so it's going to be sad obviously Brian stepping down from the bench there at the end of the year. Even in junior, it was a case of getting confidence every year and being able to be a better player with more responsibility. That's kind of how it happened in pro and it kind of took me time in junior, but obviously I give a ton of credit to what he did for me. I think the first year, you're playing power play and you're a 16-year-old defenseman playing in the OHL there, I think with his practices and the way he runs them and let's you play, you become a better, more skilled player throughout there. Obviously a lot of people owe him a lot of credit in how he's done and what he's done for all of us young guys that went through the Ottawa system. Q. Just want to ask you about playing the game. You played the game at Ralph Wilson in Buffalo and you had a huge crowd and now you're going to Wrigley where you won't have as many people. Do you think it will be a more intimate feel for the fans and the players to have the playing surface a little bit closer to the stands? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Yeah, if you see how it's set up, it will be closer to where the majority of the fans are, and not in the outfield. Obviously the outfield will be a little bit further away. It will feel like they are a little bit more on top of you, and it's exciting. I don't know, Wrigley Field is an unbelievable place to go see and to play a hockey game there is even more spectacular. I went to a playoff game this year and just the feeling around the stadium is crazy. So you know, it's going to be neat to walk out there. It's not the newest place in the world, so it's not all of the amenities that you have in other places, whether it's here at the United Center or even at Wrigley Field. But it's going to bring you back to your roots pretty quick. I think for the fans, it's going to be fun for them to get in there with all of their warm clothes and snuggle up to each other and enjoy a game of hockey. So it's going to be a thrill to walk up those steps from the dugout and come on out. Q. You're not used to having the amenities that you're used to, in your home rink, for example, and it's a home game, so can it be a test of mental endurance, as well? BRIAN CAMPBELL: It is. Even last year, it was frustrating at times, walk out there and you get scored on in the first minute and you're like, oh, you know, you've just got to be patient with the time. And then I went out, scored a goal and thought that was the best game in the world. But yeah, there is challenges to it. I think Lindy Ruff did a really good job with us as players last year before the game telling us that he really wanted us to enjoy the day and have a lot of fun with it. You are not -- you are not going to have a lot of opportunities to do this ever again, so he was really good about it. And after the game, obviously we lost, but he even came in and said, you know, this is one of the best days that all of us are ever going to have, and that was a lot of fun with it. Obviously he thanked us for being so good about it. You know, we thank the NHL for being so good in letting us have the opportunity of playing that game in Buffalo. You know, those are the things that you have to kind of block out. There's going to be distractions for a lot of people having family and friends in town over the holidays and everything. So it is a little bit of a challenge. Q. I noticed that Adam Burish and Duncan Keith have also played in outdoor games, and I was wondering if you had a chance to sit and talk to them about different aspects of what went on, and what you guys should be telling your other teammates that have not played a big game outdoors. BRIAN CAMPBELL: Yeah, I know those guys -- I think for us, some of the obstacles was even the ice was a little tough in some instances at Ralph Wilson, and that's probably because of some of the time restraints that they had. But I know those guys, they really had a great time, and their ice was tremendous. I know that's what Duncan said, and when he played, and I'm pretty sure the game was either in Michigan or East Lansing there at State. So for us, guys are asking what to wear and I know I didn't wear anything else besides what I normally wear for a game, so there's not a whole lot else to get ready for. It's almost like a wait and see atmosphere. When the snow is coming down on your visor, you adapt, or on your face, you adapt to it, and move on. DAVID KEON: Thank you very much, Brian. End of FastScripts |
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