FEATURE: Campbell starting to heat up

EDMONTON, AB - The Soup has been simmering as of late and the Oilers hope that now, he is just right.
After a lot of hard work and an equipment change, Jack Campbell has started putting together some solid performances in the blue paint for the Oilers. In the last week, he came into the Seattle Kraken game in relief of Stuart Skinner, albeit with a quiet three-save performance, and followed it up with a 20-save victory over the Islanders on Thursday.
While the workload hasn't been heavy, Campbell has looked much more at ease inbetween the pipes in both practice and in games.
"Coming in the way he did in the Seattle game, the team was not in a great spot. He came in and helped solidify the team," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said about his goaltender. "There are side benefits to that. One of that is that he just went into the game and just played. And I think sometimes for guys that maybe haven't played as much as they're used to, that's a good thing. He came in, he felt good about himself."

Campbell has become a popular teammate in the Oilers locker room. His reputation as an all-around nice guy proceeds him and he's an easy person to root for. Unfortunately, the results have not been to the level of his own expectations and the expectations that come with signing a five-year, 25-million-dollar deal to join the Blue & Orange.
With another win under his belt and a performance that required an inch-perfect shot by Matt Barzal and an excellent tip by Cal Clutterbuck to beat him, the hope is the arrow is pointing up for what was the Oilers presumed starter this offseason.
"I think as much as I don't think there's a lot of team carryover, sometimes there's individual carryover about how well you did in the previous game. I think that set himself up," Woodcroft said. "He's a popular teammate, team first guy. Everybody in there is super happy for him because he put in a good game."
Campbell joined the organization back on July. 13, 2022 with a ton of buzz as a long-term solution to the Oilers goaltending situation. Edmonton had seen some success with veteran starter Mike Smith over the prior three seasons, with the now 40-year-old producing a .913 save percentage over his tenure with the Blue & Orange.
However, as it tends to happen with older athletes, Smith's body struggled to keep up with the rigors of an 82-game NHL season. The Richmond, Ont. native never played in more than 39 games in a single season for the Oilers and the goaltender was not medically cleared to take part in the 2022-23 season.
The Oilers fall-back plan over that time in Mikko Koskinen had his own trials and tribulations between the pipes. The 6-foot-7 goaltender would end his Oilers career with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage, before signing with HC Lugano in the Swiss National League in the offseason.

Entering last offseason's Free Agent Frenzy, General Manager Ken Holland turned his eye to Campbell. The 31-year-old was fresh off stints with the Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs where he had produced a .918 and .916 save percentage respectively and was named an NHL All-Star in 2022. Campbell also had the pedigree. He was a former 11th-overall pick back in 2010 by the Dallas Stars and was highly touted coming out of the US National Development Program.
Campbell had to battle to become a full-time NHL starter with stops from the ECHL to the NHL along the way, but he has shown the ability to be a quality NHL starter as evident by his 31-9-6 record and five shutouts last season. His two-time teammate in Zach Hyman knows what a red-hot Jack Campbell can do for a team.
"I've seen Soup firsthand go on runs and play out of his mind, so I personally know what he's capable of," Hyman said. "I've said it before, but it's tough when you transition to a new team. You get new environment and new surroundings and I think he's settling in, and this was a big game for him tonight. It's great to see him play great."

In the interim, the Oilers have seen the emergence of 2017 third-round-pick and local product Stuart Skinner. The 24-year-old has steadied the ship while Campbell has adjusted to his new local, but the veteran will likely see his fair share of the crease moving forward. Performances like the one on Thursday night will only help the 31-year-old's mindset moving forward.
"I feel confident in the (net), calmer, and just more myself," Campbell said after the game. "It's just time to do it, myself included. It's no more excuse. It's just time to do it and that's what we did tonight, and we got to keep that going."
Playing for a hockey-mad market like the Oilers can be tough, especially for a volatile position like goaltending. With so many eyes on your every move, your mistakes are magnified and patience can be fleeting. However, last night the "Souuuuuuup" chants started to return to Rogers Place and Campbell says he excited to face that pressure head on as the Oilers look to rise in the second half of the NHL season.
"There's always pressure on yourself, especially when you get to this level. I want to be great every night and the best part about having this job is we get the opportunity to go out and try to do that," Campbell said. "So, I'm really happy with the guys effort tonight, the execution, and we got a big game against Colorado (on Saturday) coming up."