First Nation hockey player leads team in ECHL finals

It took him awhile but Trent Campbell can finally declare that he is a champion.
The 26-year-old Dene hockey player from the English River First Nation was a member of the South Carolina Stingrays that captured the Kelly Cup, awarded annually to the playoff champions of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).
"I don't think I've ever won a championship," said Campbell, who recalls that most of his minor hockey and university teams either had losing records or were near the .500 mark. "It's my first one."
Campbell, a second-year pro, said being part of the ECHL championship squad is indeed a major accomplishment.
"It's two steps below the National Hockey League," he said. "It's a pretty big championship for the guys on this team."
As a left winger, he played a huge role in the Stingrays' playoff successes. He also led the South Carolina club in scoring during the post-season, earning 24 points
(six goals, 18 assists) in 23 games.
Campbell scored what proved to be the
game-winning goal in the seventh and deciding match in the ECHL final against
the Alaska Aces.
The Stingrays downed the host Aces 4-2 in Game 7 staged on June 5. Campbell scored South Carolina's third goal of the contest midway through the third period.
Stingrays' coach, Jared Bednar, won't soon forget Campbell's Game 7 goal. After crossing the Aces' blueline, Campbell knew he was going to get hit but quickly fired a shot at the Alaska net, which ended up
going in.
"I don't think the goalie was expecting it," Bednar said of Campbell's shot. "And (Trent) got labelled. His helmet came flying off and he ended up on the ice. He took a good check. But he'll take the check to make the play."
The Stingrays didn't even know whether they would have Campbell's services during their post-season.
Though he had started the season with the
South Carolina club, Campbell joined the Portland Pirates in the higher calibre
American Hockey League (AHL) this past December.
He appeared in 17 matches with the Pirates before returning to the Stingrays. But his return to South Carolina was a brief one as shortly thereafter he returned to the AHL and suited up for the Worcester Sharks.
After playing 16 games with the Sharks, Campbell was told he would not be on the Worcester playoff roster so he returned to the Stingrays once again as they were preparing for their post-season.
"It was a big, big bonus for us,"
Bednar said of Campbell's return. Campbell said he thought the Stingrays were capable of winning the ECHL crown after they downed the Florida Everblades in their second-round series. The Everblades had finished atop the over-all standings in the 21-team league while South Carolina had placed fourth.
"The rumour was that the winner of that series would win the Kelly Cup," Campbell said.
South Carolina swept the Cincinnati Cyclones 4-0 in its following series, the league semi-finals. Yet Campbell said the Stingrays were still considered the underdogs in the final.
"They were favoured by far," Campbell said of the Aces. "They blew through the (National Conference) side pretty easily. Teams were saying they were unbeatable."
The Aces had won 12 out of their first 14 playoff matches.
As for the 2009-10 season, Campbell
is hoping to become a regular in the AHL, considered North America's top minor
pro hockey circuit and just one step below the National Hockey League.
"I'm pretty confident I can play there," Campbell said of the AHL.
Though Bednar would welcome him back to the Stingrays for another season, he also believes Campbell has what it takes to land an AHL spot.
"At this point it becomes a numbers game," he said. "It becomes a matter of finding the right team and where
he fits in. I think he proved he can be a regular up there."
Campbell started making a name for himself in 2002-03, during his third and final season with the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
He racked up 91 points, including 42 goals, in 60 games with the Ice Wolves. But perhaps more importantly he was offered an athletic scholarship from Michigan's Lake Superior State University, where he spent the following four seasons.
Campbell then began his pro career in France with a club called Villard-de-Lans. Though he spent two and a half months overseas, Campbell played in just seven games with the squad and doesn't have fond memories of that experience.
"I didn't have fun," he said. "The hockey was soft. I like to play pretty physical."
Upon his return to North America, Campbell joined the Stingrays for the remainder of his rookie pro season.