Meet LA Kings Goaltender Jack Campbell

Jack Campbell had worked long and hard for the moment he'd be named to an NHL Opening Night roster.
That long-awaited moment came at the beginning of this season when Campbell was slated to backup LA Kings' All-Star goaltender Jonathan Quick.
When Quick was placed on injured reserve after the first game of the season due to a fluke injury in practice, there were some big skates to be filled.
Enter Campbell: The netminder stepped in to win two of five games, including a decisive 3-0 shutout against the Montreal Canadiens.

Campbell's hockey journey started at the age of five when he began playing after being inspired by his cousin, Marshall, who, 10 years his senior, was also a goalie.
Although Campbell initially started out playing forward and defense, he eventually switched to the goaltender position around the age of eight, in a move that he says was entirely his choice. His parents weren't avid hockey fans, and dad, Jack Senior, was a track athlete at Michigan State.
"For sure it was my dream, I just played because it was so fun and didn't start getting serious until my second year of PeeWee, and actually won the Quebec PeeWee Tournament, which is like the world championships," describes Campbell, who's alternate sport is football.
Instagram from @1jackcampbell: Grandpa waited a long time for this special puck. Thanks boys 😁#TMD
"So once I did that my next goal was to make the U.S. National Team, and I ended up going there, then it was kind of my goal to make the NHL."
The Port Huron, Michigan-native's most impressive international competition at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championshipsp where his efforts in net not only won the United States the Gold Medal, but earned him the honor of Goaltender of the Tournament.
He earned the same honor the following year when the U.S. took home the Bronze Medal. Campbell then played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League before joining the Stars' system, where he spent five seasons mostly with their minor league affiliates, only playing one NHL game in which he recorded a loss.

When he arrived in Dallas, Campbell was shown videos of Quick so he could take some things from the veteran's game. So in June of 2016 when he was traded to Los Angeles, Campbell already had a good idea of who the big man on campus was.
"Since I was 18 or 19 I was watching Quickie, so to actually get traded here I was so pumped, and just to watch him practice last year for the first time," recalls the 26-year-old Campbell.
"I remember that game at home against Dallas at STAPLES, it was my first game backing Quickie up, I was kind of nervously excited. It was cool. He's a great guy and I think we get along great and compliment each other well. He's just so chill and nothing's really too big of a deal. He makes things way more simple, and that's just how I'm trying to get to."
Campbell has made great strides in his training the last few seasons, not only on the ice, but in his mental preparedness, progress that he's attributed to Kings goaltending coach, Bill Ranford, and goaltending development coach, Dusty Imoo.
Instagram from @1jackcampbell: Big thanks to this guy for always making time to help me. Was a blast once again! 😀
"My biggest challenge has been not taking it too serious because I always want to win so bad but it affected me as a person for a long time," Campbell admits. "Now I have a good balance and really caring and the will to win. But at the end of the day you can't change it, you just have to keep getting better and have fun, so I'm just trying to have more fun now."
Being around world class athletes like Quick and reigning Selke Trophy-winner Anze Kopitar is also a learning experience for Campbell.
"When I was younger I was really a wear-my-heart-on-my-sleeve type, losing my mind if I let a goal in, but over time you learn it's not really being a team guy if you're losing your mind all the time," explains Campbell.
"On the bench, looking over at how Kopi is, all chill. Not that he ever has a bad shift, but if he ever did you know that he's ready to go out the next shift and have a great one. Quickie - he's just so good that if he gives up a goal you know he's going to make the next save. It just kind of shows me how they act - it puts confidence in the team when the demeanor's the right way."

One thing Campbell hasn't needed to improve upon is his skill in the kitchen, as he loves to cook in his spare time. His signature meals include a ginger soy Chilean sea bass with mashed potatoes, and a rack of lamb with cherry glaze - the latter of which he learned from Matthew McConaughey in the movie "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."
"It's a good movie. I like the RomComs, too, so I watch those in my spare time. You might not print that," Campbell chuckles.
Campbell's mom, Debbi, and his grandmother are well-versed in the kitchen and the goaltender will take their concoctions over dining out any day. With cooking in his blood, Campbell now asks his mom for cooking tips and advice. Debbi cooked for her family every day as Jack and his older sister, Casey, were growing up and that inspired and earned appreciation from her son.
"Where my dad and I are always about hockey or sports, she and I are kind of about cooking," shares Campbell, who has cooked for as many as 8 teammates at a time.
"Failure to Launch" is another of Campbell's favorite romantic comedies, but his favorite movie of all time is "Happy Gilmore."
"Eighty percent of the things that come out of my mouth are from Happy Gilmore," he says with a laugh.
"Ozark" and "Burn Notice" are amongst Campbell's favorite television shows, and his musical interests include country, house, and hip hop. He is disappointed to have missed Justin Bieber in concert this past summer, but has seen a Bieber concert before when he volunteered to take his best friend's little sister a few years ago. "They were screaming," he remembers.

Having spent
summers in LA
for the last few years, Campbell is no stranger to the area, and the part he likes best is the Manhatttan and Hermosa Beach areas, whether it's a gathering at a teammates house or a restaurant.
"It's so laid back, kind of like my hometown back home is real blue collar, but it's on the lake, so it kind of has a similar feel by the beach where you're just wearing flip flops and board shorts or something, so it's cool to just be here and just hang out with the boys," says Campbell. "It's my favorite thing."
When it comes to home life, Campbell has a strong sense of what that means to him, thanks to his parents.
"They work so hard, and when I think of bigger things than hockey, I think that having a family one day would be number one," reveals Campbell. "Seeing how my parents treated my sister and me that's just how I want to be."
So if you think the comical personality that showed up with Quick on the red carpet at the 2018 NHL Awards with a baseball cap on, gym towel around his neck and a water bottle for extra effect is all there is to the Kings backup goaltender…
…you don't know Jack.