One player very familiar with Campbell’s leadership is Senators centreman Stephen Halliday. The 24-year-old’s first full pro season came with Campbell in his first season as an assistant coach on the bench of David Bell.

“First and foremost, a guy that knows so much about the game. The thing I loved about ‘Soupy’ the most is how much he can relate for you. He played in the league for so long. He’s a pro. Even as an assistant coach, he helped me a lot, in terms of my habits off of the ice,” said Halliday.

“And he’s just a great guy. You can always talk to him. He always has stuff for you. Like especially for me, trying to work on the D side of the puck… tips and stuff that I still take with me to this day. I was fired up when ‘Soupy’ got that [three-year extension], because he’s an unreal guy, and I think Belleville is going to be really good this year.”

This offseason, Staios signed a handful of players expected to be impact AHLers when free agency opened, helping provide Campbell with a more than respectable class of incoming talent this year, especially when coupled with prospect graduations and players picked up via trade in the offseason, like Kasper Halttunen.

Among that free agent class are players like Sammy Blais, Ryan Suzuki, Eskild Bakke Olsen, Phil Tomasino, and Christian Kyrou. Campbell got a good look at the new additions during the Prospect Challenge in mid-September and then training camp in Ottawa.

“We’re excited about them, I mean, [Halttunen] can obviously shoot the puck. Suzuki, Tomasino, and Blais have come in here, especially this week, getting back to Belleville, they’ve been leaders for us out there in practice, on the ice, in the room,” said Campbell.

“And the returning guys that we have, they’ve been good too, so we’re excited about our group. We’ve got a lot more skill than years past in there, but we have to continue with the work ethic, continue with the compete, because the skill means nothing if both those things don’t happen.”

Everyone around the organization was impacted by the slew of injuries to Ottawa’s blueline last spring which saw defender-after-defender plucked from Belleville’s blueline to support the parent club’s playoff push. That was one reason for the additional depth added during the offseason. 

It’s already been tested this year, with Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub, and Cam Crotty missing time due to injury.

Campbell can draw positives from the experiences that players like Crotty, Carter Yakemchuk, and Jorian Donovan had last season, when they were called up to Ottawa.

“It’s great for those guys. I mean, our job here is to provide Ottawa players, and get those guys ready to play in the NHL. So, if injuries do happen, like they did in Ottawa at the end of last year… [I’ve] never seen it happen before, where basically all six of the NHL team’s defencemen are hurt at one time, and everyone’s up there playing, but it’s great for their confidence,” said Campbell. 

“It’s great for them to see what it takes to play in the NHL… they went up there not just in garbage time, they were in a playoff hunt. Every point mattered, every shift mattered, every play mattered. So it only betters those guys, and it’s only going to dial them in and help them moving forward.”

With a fresh slate in front of him — and a three-year contract signed which will keep him in Belleville through the 2028–29 season — Campbell is looking forward to getting his group back into the playoffs for the first time since 2024.

“Those trials and tribulations, they only make you stronger, right? You see what works, what doesn’t work, what has brought some success, what hasn’t worked, and has led to missing the playoffs,” said Campbell. 

“And health’s a big part of it. You know, you cross your fingers that they stay healthy in Ottawa. You cross your fingers that our lineup stays healthy here, so you can kind of roll with what you got. 

“There’s always going to be volatility. Guys are always going to be here, there, and everywhere. But you know, the depth always comes into play, and the organization’s done a good job of providing some depth here, especially at the start of the year. So yeah, we’re excited to get going.”