March 18, 2008

FAIRBANKS, AK - Two more Alaska Nanooks will embark upon the next level of their hockey careers as defensemen T.J. Campbell and Tyler Eckford signed contracts with professional teams early this week.

Campbell signed on with the Utah Grizzlies of the East Coast Hockey League, where his classmate Wylie Rogers joined up the previous Friday and made his debut between the pipes in a 4-3 loss at Las Vegas on Saturday. The 6-0, 195-pound rearguard is set to join the Grizzlies on the road in Victoria, British Columbia, where Utah will play a three-game series against the Salmon Kings beginning on Wednesday.

A two-year captain, Campbell was at the heart of the Nanooks' defensive corps this season. He played in all but two games and tallied career-bests offensively with two goals and four assists. On February 4, he garnered his first CCHA Defensive Player of the Week honor with a goal and two assists in a two-game sweep of Western Michigan. In 139 career appearances, Campbell amassed three goals and 14 assists.

The 24 year-old business finance major was a part of Nanook squads that captured two Alaska Airlines Governor's Cups (the program's fourth and fifth consecutive titles) in 2004 and 2005, defeated four No.1 ranked teams, including Miami, Michigan and Minnesota, and successfully upset three conference opponents in as many years on the road in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.

Eckford decided to forego his final season with the Blue and Gold and sign an entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils, who owned his signing rights since making him their fifth choice (217th overall) in the 2004 draft.

The assistant captain's signing comes on the heels of garnering two conference level recognitions late last week, when he became the first Nanook skater to make the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's all-conference first team and was named a top three finalist for the league's Best Offensive Defenseman award.

The 6-2, 220-pound rearguard has been pegged as an elite player in the league since his rookie campaign when he garnered CCHA All-Rookie team honors. This season, he was selected for the CCHA Preseason All-Conference Team and was one of the Nation's top scoring defenseman consistently throughout the year. In fact, he led the conference's blueliners through 28 regular season games with five goals and 18 assists, good for 23 points. Eckford was Alaska's top defenseman, leading the team offensively for the majority of the season. He recorded five multi-point games (including two three-point performances) and notched at least one point in all 17 of Alaska's series. The three-year veteran finished his junior season the same way he started it: with a four-game scoring streak to bring his career totals to 16-55-71 in 112 career games.

A 22 year-old business major, Eckford will return to Fairbanks following the CCHA Awards Banquet this Thursday and finish his spring semester classes prior to joining the Devils or any of their affiliates for the 2008-09 season.