A vastly experienced forward that spent five years in the EIHL, Campbell has lifted the league title twice in the last two years, winning it with Coventry Blaze in 09/10 and the Steelers last season, and comes to Hull with a reputation for his unique blend of offensive output and physicality.
His EIHL career stats say it all. In 252 games played since joining the Elite League's Manchester Phoenix in 06/07, the Nepean, Ontario native has scored 88 goals, added 157 assists for 245 points, seven points from point-a-game form. On the other side of the coin, he has also racked up a massive 1021 penalty minutes, good for just over four penalty minutes-per-game.
The Canadian joins Cloutier, last seasons record scorer Jereme Tendler, ever-consistent Jason Silverthorn, Dominic Bakrlik and new signing from the ECHL Dominic Osman on the import forward roster for next year.
Having spent his formative years in the junior Ontario Hockey League, Campbell moved to St Thomas University in 99/00, combining studying with playing for three years before entering his first fully professional season in 04/05 with Elmira Jackals on the ECHL. He iced for two years in the ECHL, splitting 05/06 between Columbia and Stockton, while being called up for the AHL for his sixth and seventh appearances, but flew across the pond the following year to sign for Tony Hand's Manchester Phoenix - enjoying a career year in all categories as he registered 25 goals and 42 assists for 67 points in 53 games.
The 6'1 winger moved to Newcastle the following year, spending two indifferent seasons on Tyneside, however, while his time in the North East was perhaps his favourite off-ice, by far his most successful spell on-ice has come in the last two seasons as he helped both Coventry and Sheffield secure EIHL league titles, hitting 82 points and 453 penalty minutes along the way.
After spending half-a-decade in the UK, Campbell has become part of the furniture in the Elite League, a entertainer and cannonball of a forward that bounces from incident to incident, whether that be altercation, goal or assist. He's not afraid to drop the gloves or get involved physically but by the same token he is prone drifting in and out of games, and his attitude has been called into question. As an opposition fan last season, Campbell was dangerous and infuriating, most notably silencing Hull Arena with a wonderful individual goal moments after playing jester for the night. All-in-all he is one of the league's most entertaining products but more than that he can also be mightily effective as he has proven in the last two seasons.
Having spent the best part of five years playing against Campbell, Rays player-coach Cloutier is well aware of what he is getting with his final import. Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail he said:
"Derek's one of those players who can play physical and put up numbers, he's the full package. Basically he's a power forward who has averaged a point a game over five seasons in the Elite League. He plays a physical game with an edge which I thought was often missing from our team last season."
Cloutier also addressed possible concerns with Campbell's high penalty count, which currents stands at more than 1000 and will likely rise in the near future:
"I'm not worried at all by Derek's penalty minutes, he plays with an edge and is feisty. He's put up numbers and won the league title in the last two seasons, so he knows what it takes to win. I have been battling against him for five years and know how much he competes. When you play against him you don't want to wake him up. I'm extremely happy to have him on my side and, speaking to our guys, I know they are too."
The final forward import slot, while effectively no different from the previous four, can often be a damp squib in that, in the hope to get the fanbase onboard for the next season the club announces its best players first, leaving the third line forwards as the final announcements. The Stingrays bypassed that trait today, signing a player that - okay, may not be an all conquering offensive forward - but one that ticks all required boxes. Capable of goals - check, physical - check, entertaining - check, willing to protect his teammates - check.
By no means is Campbell perfect - there have been questions over his attitude and application - but he is almost as close to a perfect fit for that final import forward slot as Cloutier could have gotten given the teams needs given last seasons failings.
The club now has just one import slot to fill with a North American defenceman, new to the country, allegedly signed up and waiting to be announced, with a number of Brits also to be signed and announced.
