Dave Cameron (ice hockey)

David William Cameron (born July 29, 1958) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former professional player. He is currently an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the head coach of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) from December 2014 until the conclusion of the 2015–16 season. Cameron also played in the NHL as a forward with the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils between 1981–1984.

Cameron has been involved in coaching in ice hockey since the mid 1990s. From 1995–1997, he was head coach of the Detroit Falcons/Port Huron Border Cats franchise in the Colonial Hockey League. He then joined the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) as head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1997–1999, followed by being head coach of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors from 2000–2004. Cameron joined the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2004 when he became head coach of the Binghamton Senators until 2007, when he returned to the OHL as head coach of the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors until 2011. He then joined the Senators as an assistant coach when Paul MacLean become the team's new head coach and remained in that position until becoming head coach himself in December 2014.

Cameron has also coached in the international setting, including leading Canada men's national under-18 ice hockey team to gold at the 2004 U-18 Junior World Cup.

Playing career

Cameron played university hockey with the University of Prince Edward Island from 1976–1979, where he had 27 goals and 89 points in 49 games with the Panthers. He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the eighth round of the 1978 NHL Entry Draft.

After completing his university career, Cameron split the 1979–80 season between the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL and the Indianapolis Checkers of the CHL. In six games with the Komets, Cameron had three goals and nine points, and in 70 games with the Checkers, Cameron had 15 goals and 36 points. In the playoffs, Cameron had no points in seven games with Indianapolis.

Cameron returned to the Checkers for the 1980–81 season, where he had a breakout season, scoring 40 goals and 70 points in 78 games, along with 156 penalty minutes. In five playoff games, Cameron had two goals and five points. On October 1, 1981, the Islanders traded Cameron and Bob Lorimer to the Colorado Rockies for the Rockies first round draft pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, a pick the Islanders later used to select future Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine.

Cameron spent the 1981–82 season with the Rockies, except for two games with the Fort Worth Texans of the CHL, where he had no points in two games. In Colorado, Cameron chipped in with 11 goals and 23 points in 66 games, however, the club failed to make the playoffs. During the off-season in 1982, the Rockies were moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, where they became the New Jersey Devils.

Cameron struggled in his second NHL season, as appeared in 35 games with the New Jersey Devils in 1982–83, scoring five goals and nine points. Cameron also spent time with the Wichita Wind of the CHL, scoring six goals and 15 points in 25 games.

Cameron spent the entire 1983–84 season with the Devils, scoring nine goals and 21 points in a career high 67 games.

Cameron split the 1984–85 season with the Maine Mariners and the Moncton Golden Flames of the AHL, where he had eight goals and 25 points in 49 games. After the season, he went back home and played with the Charlottetown Islanders and Fredericton Alpines of the NBSHL. In 1994–95, Cameron made a one-game appearance with the Saint John Flames of the AHL, getting no points.

Coaching career

Detroit Falcons/Port Huron Border Cats (1995–1997)

In 1995, Cameron was named as the head coach of the Detroit Falcons of the Colonial Hockey League. In his first season with the club, the Falcons went 33–32–9, finishing in third place in the East Division. In the first round of the playoffs, the Falcons upset the West Division winning Muskegon Fury in five games, however, Detroit lost in five games against the Flint Generals.

In 1996, the Falcons relocated and became the Port Huron Border Cats to start the 1996–97 season. The Border Cats record improved to 38–31–5, which placed them once again in third place in the East Division. In the playoffs, Port Huron lost in five games to the Brantford Smoke in the first round.

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (1997–1999)

Cameron then moved to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), as he became the head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In his first season with the club in 1997–98, the rebuilding team struggled, as they finished with a 20–39–7 record, earning 47 points and missing the playoffs.

In 1998–99, the Greyhounds improved to a 31–29–8 record, earning 70 points and sixth place in the Western Conference. Sault Ste. Marie ran into the Owen Sound Platers in the first round, and the Platers knocked off the Greyhounds in five games.

St. John's Maple Leafs (1999–2000)

Cameron moved on to the St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL as an assistant to head coach Al MacAdam in 1999–2000. In his only season with the Maple Leafs, the club had a league worst 23–45–8–4 record, earning only 58 points as St. John's finished well out of a playoff spot.

Toronto St. Michael's Majors (2000–2004)

Cameron returned to the OHL in 2000 as head coach of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. In his first season with the team in 2000–01, the Majors improved by 38 points, as they went 35–23–8–2, and made the playoffs for the first time since the rebirth of the team in 1997. St. Michael's defeated the Peterborough Petes in seven games in the first round, followed by another thrilling seven game series win in the second round against the Sudbury Wolves. The Majors then fell in four straight against the Ottawa 67's in the Eastern Conference Finals.

St. Michael's continued to improve in 2001–02, as the team finished with a 40–19–8–1 record, earning an Eastern Conference best 89 points. The Majors quickly swept the North Bay Centennials in the first round, then got revenge on the Ottawa 67's in the second round, as St. Michael's defeated the 67's in seven games. St. Michael's then lost in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year, as the Barrie Colts swept the Majors in four games.

In 2002–03, the Majors slipped to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, as they had a 32–24–7–5 record, earning 76 points. In the first round of the playoffs, St. Michael's defeated the Belleville Bulls in a very close seven game series, followed by a five-game upset against the second seeded Brampton Battalion in the second round, to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive season. St. Michael's pushed the Ottawa 67's on the brink of elimination with a 6–2 win the fifth game to take a 3–2 series lead, however, Ottawa hung on for a 3–2 overtime win in the sixth game, followed by a 5–2 67's victory in the seventh game, as the Majors were eliminated in the Conference Finals for the third straight season.

In Cameron's fourth season with the club in 2003–04, the Majors had the best record in the Eastern Conference for the second time in three seasons, going 38–21–7–2, registering 85 points. St. Michael's survived a scare from the eighth seeded Sudbury Wolves, as the Majors won the series in seven games. The Majors easily defeated the Brampton Battalion in five games in the second round to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth year in a row, as they faced the Mississauga IceDogs. In a close, hard fought series, the IceDogs came out on top, defeating St. Michael's in six games, making it the fourth straight season the club lost in the Conference Finals.

Binghamton Senators (2004–2007)

After four successful seasons with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the OHL, Cameron moved up to the AHL, where he became the head coach of the Binghamton Senators. The Senators saw a 26-point improvement in Cameron's first season with the team, as Binghamton finished in first place in the East Division with a 47–21–7–5 record, earning 106 points. In the first round of the playoffs, the Senators were upset by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in six games.

With many Binghamton players promoted to the Ottawa Senators for the 2005–06, the club struggled, as they finished with a 35–37–4–4 record, as they missed the playoffs by finishing in fifth place in the East Division, seven points behind the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The struggles continued in 2006–07, as Binghamton finished with the worst record in the AHL, going 23–48–4–5, earning 55 points, well out of a playoff position.

Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (2007–2011)

After a three-year stint with the Binghamton Senators of the AHL, Cameron returned to the Majors organization, however, during the summer of 2007, the club relocated from Toronto to Mississauga, and became the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. In his first season back with the club in 2007–08, the Majors saw a 20-point improvement, as they went 31–32–2–3, getting 67 points, and finishing in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. In the opening round of the playoffs, the Majors faced off against the Niagara IceDogs. Niagara quickly ended the Majors season with a four-game sweep.

Mississauga continued to improve in 2008–09, as they improved by 14 points by earning a 39–26–1–2 record, registering 81 points, and fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Majors easily defeated the Barrie Colts in five games in the first round, however, the Brampton Battalion ended the Majors season in the second round, as Brampton won the series in six games.

The Majors saw their point total increase once again in 2009–10, as the club had a record of 42–20–4–2, getting 90 points, while finishing in third place in the Eastern Conference. Mississauga easily swept the Peterborough Petes in four games in the opening round, then held off the Ottawa 67's in seven games in the second round. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Majors faced off against the heavily favoured Barrie Colts, and after splitting the first two games, the Colts won the next three to eliminate the Majors.

In 2010–11, the Majors were named hosts of the 2011 Memorial Cup. St. Michael's had an OHL best 53–13–0–2 record, earning 108 points as the team won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy. The Majors had no trouble against the Belleville Bulls in the first round, holding the Bulls to one goal in the entire series, as St. Michael's swept Belleville. The Majors quickly swept the Sudbury Wolves in the second round, followed by a five-game series victory over the Niagara IceDogs in the Eastern Conference Finals to win the Bobby Orr Trophy, and face off against the Owen Sound Attack for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. In a thrilling series, the Attack scored an overtime goal in the seventh game to defeat the Majors 4–3 in the series.

In the 2011 Memorial Cup, St. Michael's finished 2–1 in the round-robin to advance to the Memorial Cup semi-finals. In the semi-final game, the Majors defeated the Kootenay Ice 3–1 to advance to the final game of the Memorial Cup, against the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Sea Dogs were too much to handle, as Saint John held on for a 3–1 win to deny the Majors a Memorial Cup championship.

Ottawa Senators (2011–2016)

In 2011, Cameron and Mark Reeds joined the staff of Paul MacLean with the Ottawa Senators as assistant coaches.^[1] Cameron became the Senators' head coach in December 2014 after former general manager (GM) Bryan Murray announced MacLean's firing on December 8, making Cameron the fifth head coach of the team since June 2007.^[2]

The Senators finished the 2015–16 season eight points out of a wild card spot, thereby missing the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. On March 22, 2016 Senators owner Eugene Melnyk expressed his disappointment with the team, including Cameron's decision to have backup goaltender Matt O'Connor start the first home game against the Montreal Canadiens, which the Senators lost. Melnyk stated that "nobody is safe" and "every aspect of the team is under the microscope."^[3]

On April 10, 2016 Murray announced he was stepping down as GM, with assistant GM Pierre Dorion replacing him.^[4] Two days later Cameron was dismissed as head coach along with assistant coaches Andre Tourigny and Rick Wamsley.^[5] Cameron finished with a record of 70–50–17 with the Senators.^[6]

Calgary Flames (2016–Present)

On July 6, 2016, Cameron was hired by the Calgary Flames to be an assistant coach on Glen Gulutzan's staff.

International

Cameron was an assistant coach for Canada's men's national under-18 ice hockey team during the 2003 U-18 Junior World Cup in Slovenia, where Canada finished fourth.^[7] Cameron returned to the team for the 2004 U-18 Junior World Cup, also held in Slovenia, as head coach, leading the team to win the gold medal.^[8]

Cameron was the head coach for Canada's men's national junior ice hockey team during the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Buffalo, New York, where the team earned the silver medal after losing 5–3 to Russia in the tournament finals.^[9] Cameron will be an assistant coach for Canada's men's national ice hockey team at the 2016 IIHF World Championship in Russia, with Bill Peters being the team's head coach.^[10]

Personal life

Cameron was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and grew up in Kinkora, Prince Edward Island.

After his playing career was over, Cameron returned to university to finish his business degree. He received his degree after ten years; according to him the all-time record at the university. He went into business with the Bank of Nova Scotia before becoming a guidance counsellor at Westisle Composite High School in Elmsdale, Prince Edward Island.

Cameron and his wife Kelly live in Okotoks. He also has two boys, Connor and Ben.^[11]

Career statistics

Coaching record

NHL

• Brackets show total points by the team if coach started head coaching during the season.

Minor & junior leagues

References

External links

• Dave Cameron's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database