Texas Stars Recall Goalie Jack Campbell

(Credit: Christina Shapiro/Texas Stars)

It's time to see if 20 games in the ECHL did any good for Jack Campbell's AHL confidence. The former first round goalie was recalled the afternoon to the Texas Stars. It is expected that Philippe Desrosiers, who is 5-5 with the Stars this year, will be assigned to Idaho before the weekend.

One cynical but perhaps realistic way to view this recall is to raise Campbell potential value as a trade asset. It's a tricky argument though as he has been performing well for weeks in the ECHL and there are only two games left for him to prove himself in the AHL before the deadline. If this were the case, you would have called him up weeks ago. Therefore, I don't think that's the reason.

Here's the release:

The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, announced Wednesday they have recalled goaltender Jack Campbell from their ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads.

Campbell, 23, went 14-5-0 in 20 games with the Steelheads during his assignment. He was twice named the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Week and named the league’s Goaltender of the Month for January. Campbell recorded a 1.68 goals against average and a .944 save percentage in Idaho.

This season with the Stars, Campbell carries a 3-6-3 record, a 4.27 goals against average and a .868 save percentage. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound goaltender was selected in the first round (11th overall) by Dallas in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.