Jean Pierre Camus HOF Article

Chicago legend Jean Pierre Camus had an incredibly impressive career in net. Drafted by the organisation and playing his entire career for them, he was beloved by the city. Following the draft in S73 he was instantly thrust into the starter position, and wasted absolutely no time making it his own. After a .907 rookie campaign he consistently improved and for 4 of his 5 prime seasons were at least a .92 SV%(!), only missing out on the plateau by .01 in S79, but more than making up for it with a mind boggling .935 SV% in his final season. That kind of consistency in net is what makes an extraordinary player like Camus stand out above the rest. Add in that he was a big playoff performer, with a .923 SV% career average in the post season, culminating in a Continental Cup and Daisuke Kanou Trophy win in S76 after putting up a .931 SV% through 17 games, and it should come as no surprise that Camus was headed for the Hall sooner rather than later. He also had big performances in International play, first representing Canada in the WJC and putting up an impressive .953 SV% with 1.69 GAA in his draft year. Following that up with appearances for Team Mercenaries and Team Canada in the WC where he put up big numbers, guaranteeing his team a playoff appearance in all three campaigns, and topping it off with winning Gold in S76 with Team Mercenaries as well as getting a second Gold in S80 with his native Team Canada.

S71 - Philadelphia Reapers (VHLM)

Record: 1-0-0 / Save %: .918 / GAA: 2.3 / SO: 0

After joining the Reapers late in the season as a waiver claim, Camus was put in the backup role as one might expect from a new signing. He came in off the bench twice and had one start, where he put up a very strong showing with limited exposure. Ending the regular season with only 104 minutes played. He did also end up coming in off the bench once in the playoffs, but only for the final 14 minutes of that game. Overall though, for a limited backup role in his first partial season. The signs were there for a very promising young goalie.

S72 - Yukon Rush (VHLM)

Record: 21-47-4 / Save %: .906 / GAA: 3.69 / SO: 3

The S72 Yukon Rush team wasn't exactly what you'd call a power house. But after having secured Jean Pierre Camus at 42nd(!) overall in the VHLM Dispersal Draft. They at least had one massive bright spot on their team, as despite the team facing a somewhat impressive 2847 shots, while only putting up 1527 of their own, Camus was still able to steal them 21 wins on the season. As much as the team wasn't able to really compete, Camus had opened the eyes of scouts around the VHL. There was no doubt this promising young goalie would end up going early in the upcoming VHL draft, and that he did. As being selected 7th overall by the Chicago Phoenix showed that his massive effort in net for the struggling Rush hadn't been for nothing.

S73 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 17-42-3 / Save %: .907 / GAA: 3.79 / SO: 3

Camus joined the brand new expansion team the Chicago Phoenix for their inaugural season. The Phoenix only fielded a roster of 8 skaters at the end of this season, and none of them were particularly huge performers at the time. So it was to be expected that this season would play out much the same as Camus season in Yukon, and that it did. Camus put in a massive effort and maintained a very respectable stat line on the season, managing to somehow clinch 17 wins despite Chicago letting up 2955 shots, while only putting up 1812 of their own. Further adding to the story line that no matter how the team plays in front of him, Camus will perform.

S74 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 28-32-5 / Save %: .913 / GAA: 3.62 / SO: 1

This season things were starting to look up in Chicago, they were no longer last in the league, and among their top players we now had names like Christian Mingle, Lee Xin and Matty Socks. The roster size was up to 10 players, and in celebration of this. Camus decided to further up his game from his rookie season. He finished the season 10th in SV% despite facing the most shots of any goalie in the league that season. Never one to shy away from a lot of work, as being peppered with pucks was Camus "normal" at this point in his career. It was like the more shots he faced, the better he became. As the Phoenix let up an astonishing 3024 shots on goal while only getting 2440 of their own. A massive improvement over last season, but still one that meant Camus had to carry from the crease to get the Phoenix to their league 12th finish.

S75 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 31-23-10 / Save %: .913 / GAA: 3.32 / SO: 3

Playoffs Record: 10-6-1 / Save %: .926 / GAA: 2.49 / SO: 2

This season signaled a new chapter in the career of Jean Pierre Camus, a chapter where he plays on a team that actually has a positive shot differential. As the Chicago Phoenix' core was now filling out around Camus after having added star defenseman Jeff Downey, they went on to post a winning record and get a spot in the playoffs. This is where we got our first real taste of how big a playoff performer Camus actually was, as he helped propel the Phoenix all the way to game 7 of the conference finals, where they sadly failed to slay the Dragons. But this season really showed how far Camus could take a team, when actually given the goal support he had lacked until this point in his career. However this season was just a taste of what was to come the very next season.

S76 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 43-16-5 / Save %: .922 / GAA: 2.85 / SO: 6

Playoffs Record: 12-2-1 / Save %: .931 / GAA: 2.54 / SO: 1

This season was something different, the stat line for Camus regular season alone is just massive, a sub 3 GAA in this high scoring era, along with 6 SO and an above .92 SV% is just huge. Putting him in the Top 5 in practically every statistical category (including shots faced, as usual), with his 6 SO being league leading. Though really, as impressive as Camus' regular season was, helping propel the Phoenix to a 1st place finish in the NA Conference. It was in the playoffs where he simply took it to another level entirely. As Camus and the Phoenix would only drop 3 games all playoffs, earning the expansion team their first ever cup in their 4th season in the league! The league very clearly recognized just how instrumental Camus had been in this achievement and he was awarded the Daisuke Kanou Trophy for Playoff MVP. If we then add the absolute mountain of International accolades Camus added to his trophy cabinet this season. I think it's pretty fair to say that this was probably the season he will look back on most fondly when remembering his career.

S77 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 36-22-4 / Save %: .920 / GAA: 3.13 / SO: 3

Playoffs Record: 0-4-0 / Save %: .889 / GAA: 3.78 / SO: 0

Taking a small step back, along with the rest of the team, the stat line this season wasn't as insane as last season. But really that is to be expected after a Cup win, they take a lot out of a roster. But with that being said, it was still another super solid season from Camus, putting up the kind of numbers that most goalies only dream about was now starting to be his "normal". That's how you know you're dealing with a special player. Now there was a slight cause for concern with Camus this season, an adversity for him to overcome. As in the playoffs the Phoenix got swept after Camus put up a very uncharacteristic .889 against the Los Angeles Stars. Analysts didn't know what to make of it at the time, was this just an off series? Or a sign of Camus trending down? For the first time ever in his career there were some people starting to doubt his so far infallible performances. Next season would be his chance to prove any doubters wrong, however.

S78 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 43-14-7 / Save %: .922 / GAA: 2.89 / SO: 2

Playoffs Record: 4-4-2 / Save %: .932 / GAA: 3.25 / SO: 0

Doubters = Silenced. Camus was back, again posting a sub 3 GAA regular season and leading the Phoenix to a Victory Cup as well as picking up his first Aidan Shaw Trophy of his career, and in the post season he wasn't playing around. Putting up a .932 SV% in the playoffs, he was making saves that put his S76 campaign to shame, but sadly it just wasn't meant to be. As they headed into the Conference finals against the Seattle Bears, the absolutely unreal performances of the previous series had somewhat dried up, coupled with going up against a Rara Rasputin that was playing out of his mind for that whole series, meant that the Phoenix got swept and their dreams of a second cup for Camus got squashed. It was really a heartbreaking finish to an incredible season for Jean Pierre. But his overall performance in that season was still exceptional.

S79 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 38-19-4 / Save %: .919 / GAA: 3.13 / SO: 0

Playoffs Record: 3-2-2 / Save %: 0.916 / GAA: 3.8 / SO: 0

This season was just a bit unfortunate for Camus, it broke his .92+ SV% streak, it was his only season without a regular season SO. Things that we had come to expect from Camus every single season just weren't quite there. But with that being said, he was still putting up elite numbers despite getting older and approaching the end of his career. After the heartbreaking exit in last season's playoffs many were starting to see this as the next logical progression. Even legends age, and at some point that has to start affecting their performance, right? Maybe Camus best years were gone at this point? Well, I think his final season may prove that theory wrong.

S80 - Chicago Phoenix (VHL)

Record: 49-10-5 / Save %: .935 / GAA: 2.43 / SO: 5

Playoffs Record: 3-2-2 / Save %: .908 / GAA: 3.31 / SO: 0

Excuse me Camus, have you heard of aging? When just a season prior the doubters were starting to think maybe our man was starting to finally slow down with old age. Jean Pierre just goes out and posts the best regular season SV% in over 20 seasons. Because that's how you go out with a bang! Truly an insane season to cap off an amazing career, sadly the Phoenix once again fell to the Dragons in 7 games. So a final run at the cup wasn't to be for Camus. But with that regular season, I think everyone was just in awe at what they had witnessed. If there ever was a swan song in the VHL, I'd like to think Jean Pierre Camus final regular season with Chicago was just that. Based on winning the Aidan Shaw Trophy (Best Goalie), Brett Slobodzian (Most Outstanding Player) and Greg Clegane Trophy (Lowest GAA) I think it's safe to say the league agrees with that assessment.

VHL Career totals
Record: 285-178-43 / Save %: 0.919 / GAA: 3.14 / SO: 23

Playoffs Record: 32-20-8 / Save %: .923 / GAA: 2.95 / SO: 3

Congratulations on a legendary career @solas and I hope I managed to do it justice with this article!

Edited April 17, 2022 by Shindigs
Sneaky extra "with" in a sentence for no reason.

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Jean Pierre Camus HOF Article

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