Draft Day 1: Jack Campbell to the Stars

Well, I got my wish, or as close as I was going to get short of the Wild drafting him, which was highly unlikely. The Dallas Stars picked goalie Jack Campbell, which means I'll get to see him a whole bunch with the Texas Stars once he turns pro.

I'm trying to temper my excitement a little bit, because he is just a kid and there has been a great deal of hype around him due to his play in the World Juniors, but if he continues on his current trajectory of success, I think he'll be golden.

It's so rare for a prototypical Ms. Conduct goalie to come along, especially in this day of "I've been working with a goalie coach since I was 6 and I'm technically flawless and boring" robot goalies. But like my favorites, the kid is athletic and has undeniable flair.

What's more, he's a big game goalie who thrives under pressure. He's big on puck handling (*swoon*) and Marty Turco is his idol. I know Marty's had a rough couple of years, but I approve. You can idolize a player and still acknowledge and learn from their mistakes just like (hopefully) they do themselves.

What's more, I've talked to Mike Valley, the Stars goalie coach, and I'm familiar with his philosophy, and there's not another goalie coach in the league, who I'd be happier to see working with Campbell. I have total faith that Valley won't coach the uniqueness out of Campbell's game.

So, he's the whole package for me. And he seems to be a pretty good talker, too, at least for now. Here's a transcript of the interview with him after he was drafted. And here's a fantastic audio interview from Justin at the The Goalie Guild just a short while after Campbell won the gold.

And here's The Goalie Guild's analysis of the pick.

I was really disappointed to see Turco leave the Stars (though it's totally understandable on both sides). I've never been able to completely cotton to the Stars even though they're the "local" NHL team, but I still watched them a lot because of Turco (and also I love Razor's color on the broadcast). So I'm really happy they picked up the most exciting goaltending prospect to come through in a long while, IMO.

But now for the hard work of living up to these expectations. In a position where many guys don't hit their prime until their late 20s, it's still a crap shoot, but I love this roll of the dice.