By: John Sparenberg
If you want to other compare other sports’ franchises to the Hershey Bears, one that draws many parallels is baseball's New York Yankees. The Yankees have reigned supreme on the diamond, collecting twenty-seven titles, the most in the history of Major League Baseball, and the Bears have claimed superiority on the ice, capturing the Calder Cup on eleven occasions, the most in the history of the American Hockey League.
Players from both of the clubs are revered by their boisterous boosters, whose loyalty is second to none in their respective sports. However, to fans of their opponents they are often treated with disdain by adversaries who derive great pleasure from watching their hometown heroes master the “Mighty Yankees” or the “Chocolate and White”, whether that be in a regular season outing or in a playoff series.
This off-season, more elements were added to correlation between the Yankees and the Bears when the Washington Capitals convinced forward Carter Camper to join the organization and inked him to a one-year contract on the first day of the free agent period. Carter, 27, was born in Ohio in a suburb of Cleveland, Rocky River, which is also the birthplace of the longtime owner of the Yankees, the late George Steinbrenner, whose family still maintains an active role in their ownership.
Now in his fifth full season as a professional, Camper had a distinguished career at Miami (Ohio) University as he appeared in two Frozen Fours with the RedHawks, including the 2009 tournament held at Verizon Center, the Capitals’ home rink. There the RedHawks held a two-goal lead with literally only one minute left before they captured the tournament title only to be bitten for three straight goals by their opponents, the Boston University Terriers,who prevailed in a dramatic overtime finish.
That heartbreaking setback to BU was not only a team setback, but also a personal one for the crafty Camper, who had tallied exactly two-hundred points in the AHL prior to the onset of this season. His Miami career on a whole was anything but disappointing, as he finished the collegiate part of his hockey career in Oxford, Ohio, as the RedHawks’ second all-time leading point producer, a position that he still currently maintains, with 183 points (69g, 114a) in 156 outings.
“(The points position) is something to be pretty proud of, that and the fact that we went to a couple of Frozen Fours,” said Camper, who capped off his time at the Ohio institution in fine form in the 2011-12 season, finishing second in team scoring to Andy Miele, who has played in the National Hockey League, but is no relation to former Bear Dan Miele. “There have been a lot of amazing players who have played there, especially in the last ten years or so, where they’ve been on a pretty good run, and I was fortunate to have some really good ones playing with me too.”
As evidenced by his solid numbers on the ice in his senior season at Miami, Camper was obviously able to obtain his “goals”, but thanks to the emphasis on education that his parents Rick and Heidi Camper, who both also attended Miami, instilled in him, it was not at the expense of his off-ice performance in the classroom, as he became the first player in Miami history to be recognized CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“Guys joke, and say I have to thank my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time,” Camper chuckled. “It’s just part of my upbringing I guess, to be disciplined both at the rink and in school. My parents did a great job teaching me that there is life after hockey. I’m twenty seven now, and I realize that even more now. The hockey years go by really quick, and there are a lot of years after hockey.”
Signed by the Boston Bruins as a free agent shortly after the RedHawks were eliminated from NCAA tournament play, Camper made a smooth transition to the pro ranks in the final weeks of the 2010-11 season. He collected two points in a late-season audition with Providence, the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, which included his first goal which was netted against a face that was very familiar to him-- a face that apparently was also a very welcome sight to other former Redhawks’ over the past few seasons.
“That’s something I won’t forget, and he won’t either,” said Camper of his first professional strike scored against his former Miami teammate, goalie Jeff Zatkoff, who was playing for the Manchester Monarchs at the time, but has also played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. “There have actually been a few of us who have scored their first goal on him. So, I don’t know if he was doing us favors or what,” he joked. Turning serious, he continued, “It was a three-on-two, and I went to the net. I was fortunate to a get a rebound, and I pretty much had an open net. I really didn’t have to do much, which is good because he’s actually a pretty good goalie and he’s hard to beat.”
Camper led the P-Bruins in scoring in his first full season, and then became very familiar to Capitals’ organization in the 2013 playoffs when the Bears and P-Bruins battled in the first round of playoff competition. In that series, the Bruins’ lineup featured not only Camper, but also former Bears Christian Hanson and Graham Mink, as well as Chris Bourque, who rejoined the Caps/Bears organization again this past summer.
Held scoreless in the series opener, Camper found the scoreboard in game two, netting a goal and adding an assist as the Bears took a 2-0 series lead. He lit the lamp again in game three at Giant Center as the Bruins’ staved off elimination. Game four would also be contested at Giant Center, and the contest was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Bruins’ escape with a one-goal win, capped off by Camper’s hat trick, in which he scored the game-winning goal at the 18:56 mark of the third period. Game five, in which Camper added an assist, also went to the Bruins who eliminated the Bears from playoff contention by virtue of their victory.
“Me and Bourquey were just talking about that series last week on the road. That was my first taste of playoffs in the pros. We had an incredible team, and to go down 2-0 was definitely something we were not expecting. We battled back, and that game four was probably one of the most exciting games I’ve ever played in. That win had us feeling pretty good about ourselves going into game five. I’ve always felt comfortable playing in Hershey, and joked that I’d like to play here. Now that I’m here, it’s a great feeling to be a part of the Hershey Bears.”
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