Dave Cameron

For the British politician, see David Cameron. For the English football player, see Dave Cameron (footballer). For the American baseball analyst, see Dave Cameron (baseball analyst).

Dave Cameron
Born	July 29, 1958 (1958-07-29) (age 53) Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Centre
Played for	NHL Colorado Rockies New Jersey Devils IHL Fort Wayne Komets AHL Moncton Golden Flames Maine Mariners Saint John Flames CHL Indianapolis Checkers Fort Worth Texans Wichita Wind
NHL Draft	135th overall, 1978 New York Islanders
Playing career	1979–1984

Dave Cameron (born July 29, 1958) is currently an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators of the NHL. Cameron is a former NHL player, as he played with the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils from 1981–1984. Prior to becoming an assistant coach with Ottawa, Cameron was the head coach of the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League from 2007–2011, helping the team to the 2011 Memorial Cup final. Other head coaching stints include the Binghamton Senators of the AHL from 2004–2007, the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the OHL from 2000–2004, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL from 1997–1999, and the Detroit Falcons/Port Huron Border Cats franchise in the Colonial Hockey League from 1995–1997.

Playing career

University of PEI Panthers

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.

New York Islanders

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, which turned out to be Pat LaFontaine.

Colorado Rockies

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.

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.

He spent the entire 1983–84 season with the Devils, where Cameron scored nine goals and 21 points in a career high 67 games, however, the club failed to make the playoffs. This would be the last time Cameron would play in the NHL.

Later career

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

Colonial Hockey League

In 1995, Cameron was named as the head coach of the Detroit Falcons of the CoHL. 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

After spending two seasons coaching in the Colonial Hockey League, Cameron moved to the Ontario Hockey League, 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

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

After a season away from the OHL, Cameron returned as a head coach, this time with 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

After four successful seasons with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the OHL, Cameron moved up to the AHL, where he would become 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

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 th 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.

2011 World Juniors

Cameron was also the coach for the Canadian team for the IIHF World U20 Championship, held in Buffalo, New York. Canada finished in second place in the "B" group in the preliminary round of the tournament, advancing to the final round. In the quarter-finals, Canada defeated Switzerland 4–1, followed by a 4–1 win over the United States in the semi-final round. In the gold medal game, the Canadians held a 3–0 lead going into the third period, however, Russia scored five in a row to defeat Canada 5–3, giving Cameron and his team the silver medal.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1981–82	Colorado Rockies	NHL		66	11	12	23	103		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	New Jersey Devils	NHL		35	5	4	9	50		–	–	–	–	–
1983–84	New Jersey Devils	NHL		67	9	12	21	85		–	–	–	–	–
NHL totals				168	25	28	53	238		–	–	–	–	–

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season							Post Season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
DET	1995–96	74	33	32	-	9	75	3rd in East	Lost in Second round
PHB	1996–97	74	38	31	-	5	81	3rd in East	Lost in First round
SOO	1997–98	66	20	39	7	-	47	5th in Western	Missed Playoffs
SOO	1998–99	68	31	29	8	-	70	4th in West	Lost in First round
TOR	2000–01	68	35	23	8	2	80	2nd in Central	Lost in Third round
TOR	2001–02	68	40	19	8	1	89	1st in Central	Lost in Third round
TOR	2002–03	68	32	24	7	5	76	2nd in Central	Lost in Third round
TOR	2003–04	68	38	21	7	2	85	1st in Central	Lost in Third round
BNG	2004–05	80	47	21	-	12	106	1st in East	Lost in First round
BNG	2005–06	80	35	37	-	8	78	5th in East	Missed Playoffs
BNG	2006–07	80	23	48	-	9	55	7th in East	Missed Playoffs
MIS	2007–08	68	31	32	-	5	67	3rd in Central	Lost in First round
MIS	2008–09	68	39	26	-	3	81	2nd in Central	Lost in Second round
MIS	2009–10	68	42	20	-	6	90	2nd in Central	Lost in Third round
MIS	2010–11	68	53	13	-	2	108	1st in Central	Lost in Finals

References

Warren, Ken. "Cameron set to be Ottawa's assistant coach". http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Senators+assistant+coach+Melnyk+Cameron/4971976/story.html?cid=megadrop_story. * Dave Cameron's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Persondata
Name	Cameron, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 29, 1958
Place of birth	Charlottetown, PEI, CAN
Date of death
Place of death