It begins with a willingness to find the open net. It’s the markings of a goalscorer and reveals a drive fed only by hard work and perseverance. It can’t really be taught and is rewarded by instinct and ultimately effort.
On July 27th Cam Wright – a 6’1″ right-shot winger and Ontario native – signed his first professional contract: an AHL two-way contract for the 2022-23 season with the Colorado Eagles. The 24-year-old’s journey here started out as many hockey players do, climbing the ranks from bantam to Junior A.
“A late bloomer.”
That’s how Wright described the early years of his hockey career. He was called to the option of major junior but conceded he wasn’t quite ready at 16.
Instead, he found a home with the St. Michaels Buzzers in the Canadian Junior Hockey League – a developmental host to NHL talents like Reilly Smith, Wojtek Wolski, and Andrew Cogliano. It was there he began to find the strengths of his game.
His shot was what first drew attention, and from there he was encouraged to lean into the role of a goalscorer. In this, Wright saw an opportunity. Shoot and find the back of the net. He registered 130 points through 136 games, including 63 goals.
In his final year, he wore the “A” and served as the alternate captain as he rounded out his junior career with his sights set on the next level. He knew the best course of action was even more development – a steady commitment to growth.
His next chapter brought him to Bowling Green State University – an NCAA Division 1 program in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. In his sophomore year, the Falcons made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament after 29 years but were dealt a close 2-1 loss to UMD in the Regional Semifinals. That season was followed by a change in head coach and Ty Eigner was hired on – it also marked the start of COVID-19 earlier that spring.
His senior year did not go exactly as planned. The season was shortened to 31 games in response to the pandemic. That fall, players learned that they would have a fifth year of eligibility as a result and it gave Wright something to think about.
Despite the Falcons going 20-10-1, they were ousted on Selection Sunday when the Falcons were excluded in favor of a 14-13-2 Notre Dame team from the Big Ten. He finished his time at Bowling Green a Three-Time WCHA Forward of the Week and his production increased from his junior to senior year from 0.71 PPG to 0.93.
𝙉𝘾𝘼𝘼 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚
🏒Bowling Green rosters four of the nation's top-12 active scorers and are the only team in the country with four 100-point scorers (Kruse, 142 – Johnson, 122 – Ford, 114 – Wright, 101)! #AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/9kM9KZEjEj
He received different looks throughout the Falcons’ lineup, eventually earning a top-6 role. It was a timely promotion that primed him for his next big decision: entering the transfer portal.
“I know I wanted another year of college,” Wright explained. “I ended up entering the portal and it took a couple weeks, but when Tavis MacMillan the assistant coach reached out to me, it was awesome to hear from him. The way that him, [David Carle], and Dallas [Ferguson] spoke to me, I knew it was the right place to come. The program speaks for itself with the success they’ve had, but also the city, the conference, and the ability to be out there. It was a no-brainer for me. I jumped on it right from the offer.”
Wright laughed as he described the recruitment tool used in lieu of being able to see the campus in person. It was something of a PowerPoint meets Zoom presentation that highlighted DU’s academics, the city, the beauty of the mountains, and the athletics with an emphasis on the hockey program. Then 8-time national champions, Magness Arena knew how to draw a crowd and the fans were another selling point.
It was mutually beneficial.
“They wanted guys who could put the puck in the net and score goals and that fed [in] to my game quite a bit. I thought it was a great match,” he added.
He arrived at the University of Denver for their 2021-22 season and quickly saw that this group was different. “Coming from Bowling Green, a bit of a lower tier college hockey program, you don’t realize how good these players actually are: from the ones everyone knows like [Bobby Brink] and [Cole Guttman], but even the freshman like Sean Behrens,” Wright said. “Once our first few weekends had started and it was obvious how good we were gonna be, it was definitely exciting to know how far we could go.”
Among that high-caliber talent, Wright earned a role on one of Denver’s most productive lines with Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo (Carolina Hurricanes). Scoring depth was a big piece in DU’s winning formula. The Pioneers were ranked number 1 in the nation with the highest average goals per game at 4.28. With a prolific powerplay, Denver finished the season with the most points and goals scored on the PP – 9 of their 49 goals came from Wright. They hovered just near the top of the power rankings during the regular season and finished with a 31-9-1 record.
Cameron Wright becomes the first DU player to score 20 goals in a season since Henrik Borgstrom (23) and Jarid Lukosevicius (21) in 2018-19.#PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/bPeS3IlKok
Wright earned 34 points with 23 goals including the final goal in the championship game. Denver earned its 9th national title and is now tied with the University of Michigan for the most of any college program.
Wright’s decision to come to DU for his fifth year proved to be better than he could have imagined. Even in the flurry of the season, he was able to build upon his Sports Management degree from Bowling Green by completing a one-year master’s certificate program in Marketing Communication. DU’s quarter system is rigorous and even after winning a national championship on April 9th, classes remained in session until June.
But perhaps the greatest outcome of all was the invitation to the Colorado Avalanche’s 2022 Development Camp. On July 10th, the Avs announced the list of invitees and among them was Wright. With only two picks in the 2022 draft and just a handful of prospects, this year’s camp presented a unique opportunity to young players outside of the organization.
“I had a lot of fun,” Wright said of the camp. “I was an older guy there. It was tough to be on the ice with 2004’s being a ’98, so that was a little bit of a wake-up call. I think the Avalanche organization did a very good job. They treated us all so well from the hotel to the rink – everything that they did for us. That was great.”
Wright was naturally a standout in camp. He proved a capable, versatile winger with strong skating and speed. He found guys quickly and received passes with ease. He especially shined in the Burgundy-White scrimmage alongside Tarun Fizer. Wright has a play-driving instinct – this was evident after his season with Denver and only reaffirmed in camp. Director of Player Development Brian Willsie described him as being able to score big goals at big times and find the right place at the right time.
Wright was also satisfied with the experience.
“I thought I had a good camp. It was fun to meet guys and get to know them. A lot of the conversations I had with the coaching staff and player development were really good. I think they were honest about what I could do for this organization and where I’d end up. I liked that. After a couple conversations, I realized that the Eagles is where I want to be.”
“I knew that they had watched our games a lot this year, and I liked that aspect. They knew how I played as a player, so there wasn’t any surprises going into camp,” he added.
Additionally, Wright connected with a new arrival to the Eagles who made his AHL debut for them last season: former Minnesota State defenseman Wyatt Aamodt. Avs prospect Sean Behrens was camp roommates with Aamodt, and Wright admitted that they didn’t speak of the title game, but did bond over their age and experience.
“[Aamodt] was one of the first guys to message me after the Eagles posted about my contract. I’m super excited to be there with him and he’s a great guy. That’s definitely a nice familiar face to have,” Wright said.
Behrens, of course, is another familiar face to Wright from their season at DU.
“He’s a special player,” he said. “The calm and poise that he has. I’m so excited to see how he does this year. I know his future’s gonna be bright with the Avalanche. I’m super excited to see him one day dressed with them. He is such a good dude too. He’s a down-to-earth guy, very calm and mature for his age.”
While Behrens is set to return to DU for another season, Wright will be vying for a coveted roster spot in the Eagles’ forward group. It’s neither a small feat nor an impossible one. His contract makes him eligible to play for the ECHL affiliate with the Utah Grizzlies, but he has his sights set on Loveland.
“My goal for this year would be to play the year with the Eagles. I would be fine going to Utah, but I think for me, my goal would be to play for the Eagles this year and be a regular in the lineup every night,” Wright explained.
He has been training all summer to prepare for the opportunity. He spent some time at a gym back home in his hometown of Newmarket, Ontario and returned to Colorado for DU’s Alumni Pro Camp on August 15th. The camp brought out talents like Troy Terry, Will Butcher, and other professionals like Devon Toews, Robert Bortuzzo, and Logan O’Connor – a college player whose path is not so different from Wright’s both as undrafted free agents who earned pro contracts through development camp.
Denver’s program is a worthy one when it comes to preparing players for the next level – especially ones like O’Connor and Wright who value hard work and express a willingness to do whatever is needed of them.
The Colorado Eagles training camp is set to begin on October 3rd, and he will get his chance to compete for a roster spot. But before that, Wright will also attend the 2022 Rookie Face-Off tournament alongside Eagles like Alex Beaucage, Jean-Luc Foudy, and more. It will be a useful, extended look at his fit ahead of camp.
If you want to learn even more about Wright ahead of next season, check out the full-length podcast:
