Jean-Pierre Camus: Veteran Presence

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Veteran Presence: Jean-Pierre Camus

Camus greets some Chicago fans before a regular-season game

 

There comes a time in many young athletes’ careers where they can no longer be considered a “prospect”.  Now they have expectations.  The pressure is on, and it’s time to put up or shut up.  For Jean-Pierre Camus, it certainly seems like that time is coming.  Make no mistake, it’s still early in his career, but all the factors seem to be lining up.  He’s just signed a five-year extension, a clear statement from the Chicago Phoenix that he’s their franchise goaltender.  And the Phoenix, for the first time in their existence, have made the playoffs.  After two seasons of building, it seems like the team is starting to turn a corner in their third season.  And the pressure might be on Camus to do the same.

 

“The playoffs are an interesting time for a goalie,” says retired netminder Callum Sinclair.  Sinclair spent seven seasons in the league, mostly with HC Davos Dynamo before a short stint in Cologne.  Some might remember him for what was likely the highest point of his career, a dominant display for Davos against Riga over a four-game sweep in the Season 46 European Conference semifinals.  “It’s different from a lot of other positions because the responsibility is all on yourself.  Sure, there’s a team in front of you, but when the puck’s coming at you you’re all alone.  Sometimes you’re on a hot streak, you’re in one of those moods, your confidence is over the moon, and that helps you.  But when things start going wrong you have to be able to weather the storm.  Some guys can’t do that.  There were a lot of times where I couldn’t do that.  It’s not like the regular season, where you can sort of shrug it off and say, ‘well, there’s always the next game’.  Every game means something in the playoffs.  It’s make-or-break.”

 

Sinclair himself has a strong connection with Camus.  While he’s currently working as an on-screen analyst for the VHL Network, he used to be Camus’ goaltending coach during his teenage years.  Sinclair also advised the Chicago goalie and his family during both his VHLM career and the leadup to the VHL Draft.  “JP’s the kind of kid who loves pressure,” he says of his student.  “You look at him and you think, ‘this guy’s got exactly the right mentality to be real successful long-term’.  He’s just so competitive, so focused, so determined.  Of course, it’s a real possibility that he stumbles out of the gates, but I can’t see that lasting long if it even happens.  He knows how to bounce back from those kind of things.  I’ve talked to him a couple of times over this season, and I think it’s going to be interesting to watch what he can do with this Chicago team in the playoffs and in the future to come.  JP's getting to a point in his career where he's going to be looked upon to take responsibility and have some big performances, and I think he knows that.”

 

The Phoenix will be in an interesting first-round matchup against the Seattle Bears, backstopped by another Season 73 draftee in Jacob Tonn.  While the media attention might be growing around Chicago and Camus, there has been an intriguing silence from both parties towards the media as of late.  Camus in particular has deactivated all of his social media accounts since the end of the regular season and wasn’t available for any pre- or post-game interviews after signing his contract extension.  There might be five more seasons after this, but for now the message is clear.  The focus for Camus is no longer just development, but winning.

Edited December 24, 2020 by solas