Colts’ Cameron belts out goals
According to teammate Luke Pither, Barrie Colts forward Bryan Cameron is a terrible singer.
“Yeah, that’s true,” admits the 21-year-old forward. “(Pither’s) really good on the guitar, so we kind of had some fun with it.”
The pair formed both their pseudo-band and their friendship playing together with the Belleville Bulls last season. They were reunited in Barrie thanks to separate trades in the summer which brought the highly talented duo to the Colts.
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“Bryan Cameron and Luke Pither are two special players and they work so well together,” says Colts teammate Alex Hutchings. “To have two of the best guys in the OHL on the same team is huge.”
Regardless of his vocals, Cameron—the Ontario Hockey League’s overage player of the year— continues to make noise in the post-season. He scored the opening goal on Monday night to help the Colts beat the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 3-1 and take a similar 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference final. The Colts can put the series away in Game 5 on Wednesday night in Barrie.
A win would give Cameron and Pither another shot in the OHL final and a possible berth in the Memorial Cup. The pair went to the league final with the Bulls in 2008, but eventually lost to the Kitchener Rangers, who were hosting the Memorial Cup.
The Bulls earned an automatic entry into the junior tournament as the OHL representative, though they were beaten badly, 9-0, in the semifinal by the host Rangers.
“I’ve been there once and it didn’t end well, but I still made it there and we had fun,” said Cameron of his experience in Kitchener. “We came up short, so I’m definitely looking forward to coming back this year and getting the job done.”
Offensively Cameron has been adept at getting the job done for the Colts as the leading goal scorer in the regular season with 53 goals in 62 games, finishing the season with 78 points. He’s also leading the charge for the Colts in the post-season with 11 goals and six assists for 17 points in 11 games, but says the attention to team defence is just as important.
“Sometimes we get carried away with all the goals,” said the Brampton native. “We’re looking too much at offence at times, but in the playoffs we’ve learned to turn that around and play sound (defence).”
Cameron was drafted in the third round (82nd overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in 2007, but failed to sign, making him a free agent.
“I’m trying to talk to teams,” said Cameron of his hockey future. “It’s been an experience, but I’m kind of focused on playing right now, so that’s my main mindset right now.”
He’s hoping the added attention that comes from a long playoff run will translate into a NHL contract, like it did for the undrafted Pither. Pither recently signed a three-year entry level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.
