Photos by Kortnie Westfall
Senior captain T.J. Campbell battles with an Anchorage player in October’s series.
Wylie Rogers makes a save in the first series of this year’s Governor’s Cup.

For college hockey teams around the country, the end of the season marks a new beginning for many players. Professional leagues pull players up into their ranks fresh from the playoffs in many cases.

For the Nanooks, seniors Wiley Rogers and T.J. Campbell and junior Tyler Eckford are about to make that next step up.

Rogers and Campbell are now with the Utah Grizzlies, an ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders.

Assistant captain and goaltender Rogers, a Fairbanks native, made the jump first, playing in his first game with the Grizzlies on Mar. 15. Rogers had an outstanding career with the Nanooks, setting and re-setting records.

Rogers holds team records for: saves in a game (64), single-season minutes (1,794), single-season save percentage (.922), saves in a single season (923), career wins (42), career shutouts (seven), career player of the week awards (seven), career saves (2,960), and career minutes (6,174). As a rookie he was voted the Steve Moria most valuable player and a member of the CCHA All-Tournament. On the offensive end, Rogers also tallied six assists in 113 career games.

Campbell, the Nanooks’ captain, joined the Grizzlies’ short roster just days later, and made his playing debut Mar. 19. Campbell, a two-year captain, set career-bests this season with two goals and four assists. He leaves the Nanooks with a career three goals and 14 assists in 139 games. He was a part of the Nanooks when they won two back-to-back Governors’ Cup series, at the tail end of a five-year run. In February, Campbell gathered his first CCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors for his goal and two assists against Western Michigan.

Though a coincidence the teammates ended up on the same team, DelCastillo thinks it’s a good pairing: “They’re going into an environment where they probably don’t know a lot of people so it’s nice that they have each other.”

However, the competition won’t necessarily be all that foreign, as the Grizzlies face off against former Nanooks Kelly Czuy (Las Vegas Wranglers) and Corbin Schmidt (Alaska Aces), both who were teammates of the duo.

Despite leaving to play, the seniors are also able to finish their classes, “A lot of times seniors do that, they arrange it with their professors… they have the ability to work it out over the internet and stuff,” said DelCastillo, “When they took classes last semester they planned it out; they knew at Christmas that there was a possibility of them leaving.”

Eckford signed a two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils, who drafted him in 2004. “He had such a good year and New Jersey drafted him and they’ve been watching him all year,” said Alaska head coach Doc DelCastillo from the Detroit airport. DelCastillo was returning from the CCHA banquet where Eckford had been honored as the league’s best offensive defenseman and was named to the All-Conference first team.

Eckford led the league’s defensemen this season with 8 goals and 23 assists in 35 games. His contract with the Devils’ association allows him to complete his spring semester classes and join the Devils or their American Hockey League affiliate, the Lowell (Mass.) Devils, in the fall.

Rogers, Campbell and Eckford are heading to the pros now, but they’re not necessarily the only Nanooks that may go. DelCastillo said it’s likely that some of the other seniors on the team may sign over the summer. He emphasized the importance of the opportunity that is presented to the players.

“Going to the next level is one of those opportunities, and what you do with that opportunity determines how far you will go,” he said, “They’ve got their foot in the door and where they go is up to them.”