Ten Questions with Bruno Campese

It is not very often in sports that a team and a departing general manager leave on good terms. This week, the Prince Albert Raiders are saying good-bye to eight-year General Manager Bruno Campese, who is leaving the organization to return home to British Columbia and be closer to family. He took some time to sit down with Raiderhockey.com and answer some questions about his time in Prince Albert.

Does it feel fitting knowing you are leaving the Prince Albert Raiders on good terms with the organization?

You always want to do the best job you possibly can. I know I have worked extremely hard, always in the best interest of the Prince Albert Raiders. Every decision ever made was in the best interest of the Prince Albert Raiders. There were a lot of good ones, and there some ones I would like to have back, but that is always hindsight.

Leaving now, it was a matter of looking at my personal situation and seeing where I needed to be for my family and myself as well as where I thought the team needed to go. To have the ability to walk away on excellent terms is something I am really proud of.

So often in sports when a general manager is in the last year of his contract, he will try to sell off assets to save his job – you didn’t do that though. Does it feel like you are passing the torch in the best way possible?

Absolutely. It would have been really easy to do some different things this year, but we felt it was important to have a long-term view and the assets we acquired were done to have the team be competitive in the next few seasons, with the ability to build through the draft.

This year we were handed some cards that I thought were difficult to take, but we dealt with them. When I look at it now, the team will be very competitive moving forward. If the team continues to be patient and uses those draft picks wisely, this team will have an opportunity to be very strong in the not too distant future.

When you discuss the tough cards handed to you this season, two of the biggest decisions this year surrounded the Josh Morrissey and Leon Draisaitl trades to Kelowna. Both deals were analyzed heavily in the media. Looking at it now, do you do it the same way?

When we made the Morrissey trade, we did it at a time where we thought we still had a chance to make the playoffs. The deal was made at that time because we were going to lose Josh for 10 games and we were already missing Hunter Warner and Sawyer Lange. That was our top three defenceman out and we needed help. The players we received back in that transaction were good players that could help elevate us this year and next. We had a lot of momentum going into Christmas, but for whatever reason we did not have it when we came back. If we had a better start after the holidays, we would have made playoffs with this group.

I like the players that we incorporated in these deals, as well as the draft picks we still have to use. Those draft picks were spread out with a purpose in mind. When we made the Draisaitl deal, we knew he was coming back, but not to Prince Albert, so we would have to move him. The deals with Morrissey and Draisaitl were structured in a way that would give us a substantial number of picks as well as some very good players.

What are going to be some of the biggest assets on this team for the next general manager?

When you look at our current roster, we have 18 or 19 returning players – there has to be some decisions about 20s – but you can certainly start the season with 17 players and we know there are some younger guys ready to step into the lineup.

Our goaltending situation is as strong as there is in the WHL. We have two very capable goaltenders on our roster right now and two up-and-comers that are going to pushing for jobs. There is a great deal of depth at the position, which will allow some flexibility for a new general manager. The backend is solid with the guys that we have returning. There is also going to be an opportunity for some of our 16 and 17 year-old players on our list to come in here and push for jobs. Our forward situation also has a good mix of age and skill set. Our older players are very capable of scoring, while our younger guys will bring a ton of energy. The biggest thing the new general manager is going to have to work with is draft picks. We have a full set of picks the next two years plus a couple extras.

What are some of the strengths of the Raiders organization that people would not know about?

Some of the noise we hear as a team is that players do not want to come here. That is completely false. In the eight years I have been here, there has only been one player, who we wanted to sign, who has not come here. There have also been only a handful of players who have asked to be moved. Those are very small numbers when you look at the number of kids who have come here and have appreciated playing with the Raiders, and that is because we treat our players well.

Because we are a community owned team, money we make is put back into the team and supports how we treat the individuals within our organization. Being a community owned team becomes an asset in that way.

When the next general manager comes in, he is going to have a large support staff in place. How important is this hockey staff in the building process?

When we brought Marc Habscheid in, one of the things we stressed was the need for our program to continue to build. We needed to continue to create enthusiasm within our community and engage our fans.  Our staff is an excellent group with Marc’s track record, with Dave Manson and everything he has done in the game, and Kelly Guard who we believe is an up-and-coming coach. When you include Duane Bartley and our scouting staff, led by Dale Derkatch, we have a large number of quality people.

Sometimes it is not always the ideal situation to have everyone already in place, but in this situation, with the popularity of our staff in the community, with our board, with the fan base, I thought it was important to keep that continuity.

What is your biggest surprise in your eight years in Prince Albert?

To be honest, I have been in the game so long, not a lot surprised me. The passion of the fans and the support the team gets is what I expected from a community that lives and breathes Raiders hockey.

What did you learn during your time in Prince Albert as you transitioned from a head coach to a general manager in the WHL?

There are so many aspects to this job and you constantly learn from both the hockey and business side. With this team, we have 12 board members and they have been great to work with and have been very supportive. There has been a huge evolution here in eight years, so much foundation and building that people cannot always see in-game that has been amazing.

What is your favorite memory in your eight years with the Raiders?

There was a lot. The personal things with certain players are big. To not have a first round pick from the Raiders for a long time and then have Mark McNeill get picked. He was the very first player I was a part of drafting, and he turned out to be a first rounder in the NHL. To be at the draft and see that happen was a fantastic moment.

There are many memories of meeting some fantastic people. When I leave here, the things I will miss are the people I work with and the good-natured support I had during my tenure.

Any last thoughts?

My biggest disappointment is not winning a Memorial Cup. Anyone who is in this league strives to do that. I know when I took over; I said we had to find a way to get to that point. We never came close to that, but when I look at the whole process, there was so many good things that occurred and we have built an extremely respected program across the Canadian Hockey League.

We have been able to attract some incredible players to Prince Albert who have moved on to higher levels. I know the banners are not there, but there are so many positive things to look at – players being drafted, signing NHL deals, playing in the CIS, playing minor pro or in Europe – our track record is very good.  One of the things I am most proud about is the foundation we have built that will be handed over for the next general manager to continue.

Above all else, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of our board members, staff, players, parents, volunteers, fans, and the business community, who have made this experience for my family and me exceptional.