Cam Barker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cam Barker |
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Barker with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009
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| Born | April 4, 1986 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
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| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Chicago Blackhawks Minnesota Wild Edmonton Oilers Vancouver Canucks Barys Astana HC Slovan Bratislava SCL Tigers Ilves Tampere Dragons de Rouen |
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| NHL Draft | 3rd overall, 2004 Chicago Blackhawks |
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| Playing career | 2006–2021 | ||
Cameron Barker (born April 4, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played as a defenceman. He was chosen third overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He played four seasons with them. In 2010, he was traded to the Minnesota Wild. Barker also played for the Canadian national team. He won two gold medals at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in 2005 and 2006.
Contents
Cameron Barker's Hockey Journey
Starting in Youth Hockey
As a young player, Barker played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. He played for the Winnipeg South Monarchs. Later, he played AAA Midget Hockey for the Winnipeg Thrashers when he was 14. After that season, he was picked 4th overall in the 2001 WHL Bantam Draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The next season, Barker moved to play for the Gloucester Rangers. He then joined the Cornwall Colts Jr.A. club. He signed with the Medicine Hat Tigers at the end of the 2001–02 season.
Junior Hockey Career Highlights
Barker started his junior hockey career in 2001–02 with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He played in three games that first year. In the 2002–03 season, he led his team's defencemen in scoring. He had 47 points. He was also named to the WHL All-Rookie Team.
He got even better in 2003–04, scoring a career-high 65 points in 60 games. He helped the Tigers win the Ed Chynoweth Cup, which is the WHL championship. As WHL champions, they played in the 2004 Memorial Cup. However, Medicine Hat lost in the semi-final.
Joining the NHL: Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks picked Barker third overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He signed his first professional contract with Chicago on August 22, 2005. He made the Blackhawks team for the start of the 2005–06 season. He played his first NHL game against the Colorado Avalanche. But after one game, he was sent back to Medicine Hat. He finished the season there with 18 points in 26 games.
Barker started the 2006–07 season with an injury. He had ankle surgery in September. After he got better, he joined the Norfolk Admirals. This team was Chicago's minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). He played his first game for Norfolk on November 3, 2006.
He got his first professional point on November 21. He helped score the game-winning goal in overtime. A few games later, he scored his first professional goal on November 29. Later that season, the Blackhawks called him up to the NHL. He scored his first NHL goal on January 14, 2007, against the Minnesota Wild. He played 35 games with Chicago and had 8 points in his first NHL season.
Moving Between Leagues
Even though he finished his first NHL season with the Blackhawks, he was sent back to the AHL for the start of the 2007–08 season. He joined the Rockford IceHogs, which was a new AHL team. He helped score the first goal in IceHogs AHL history on October 6, 2007.
Barker was chosen to play in the 2008 AHL All-Star Game. But he couldn't go because the Blackhawks called him back up to the NHL again. In his second time with the Blackhawks, he improved his play. He scored six goals and had 18 points in 45 games.
Barker did not make the Blackhawks team at the start of the 2008–09 season. He was sent back to Rockford again. After playing 7 games with Rockford, he was called up by the Blackhawks. He stayed with the team for the rest of the season. Barker finished the season with six goals and 34 assists.
Trades and Later Career
In 2009, Barker signed a new three-year contract with the Blackhawks. However, because of team budget rules, he was traded on February 12, 2010. He went to the Minnesota Wild. In return, the Blackhawks got defenceman Kim Johnsson and young player Nick Leddy. The Wild later decided to end his contract in June 2011.
Barker then signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2011. The Oilers did not offer him a new contract in June 2012, so he became a free agent.
In September 2012, Barker was invited to the Texas Stars training camp in the AHL. He made their main team. He played 23 games for Texas. After that, his try-out contract was not extended.
On January 13, 2013, Barker signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks did not re-sign him, and he became a free agent again in July 2013.
On November 5, 2013, Barker signed a one-year deal with Barys Astana in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). After playing the 2013–14 season in the KHL, Barker came back to North America. He tried out for the Blackhawks again. But on September 27, 2014, the Blackhawks released him.
On December 22, 2014, Barker signed with HC Slovan Bratislava in the KHL. He stayed there for two years. In May 2016, he returned to Barys Astana.
After another short time with Slovan Bratislava, Barker left the KHL. He signed with the SCL Tigers in Switzerland in January 2018. In November 2018, he signed with Ilves Tampere in Finland. After playing seven games, his contract ended.
Barker spent his last two professional seasons in France. He played for the Dragons de Rouen in the Ligue Magnus. He ended his 15-year playing career on June 23, 2021. He retired from playing and became an assistant coach for a junior Canadian team, the Penticton Vees.
Playing for Team Canada
 Barker with Team Canada at the 2006 World Junior Championships |
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada |
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| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 2006 Canada | |
| Gold | 2005 Canada | |
| Spengler Cup | ||
| Gold | 2012 Davos | |
Barker was part of Team Canada when they won the gold medal at the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He got sick during the tournament. He could only play in the first 3 games.
Barker played in his second straight World Junior tournament in 2006. He was the only player returning from the previous year's team. He won another gold medal with Team Canada. They beat Russia in the final game.
Career Statistics: How Cam Barker Played
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2001–02 | Cornwall Colts | CJHL | 72 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 132 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 64 | 10 | 37 | 47 | 79 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 17 | ||
| 2003–04 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 69 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 105 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 18 | ||
| 2004–05 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 52 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 99 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 2005–06 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 26 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 63 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 59 | ||
| 2006–07 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 34 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 53 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | ||
| 2006–07 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 35 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 29 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 45 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 68 | 6 | 34 | 40 | 65 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 51 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 19 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 52 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 25 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Texas Stars | AHL | 23 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Barys Astana | KHL | 26 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 26 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2014–15 | Slovan Bratislava | KHL | 18 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Slovan Bratislava | KHL | 55 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 75 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Barys Astana | KHL | 55 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 46 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2017–18 | Slovan Bratislava | KHL | 37 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | SCL Tigers | NL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Ilves | Liiga | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Dragons de Rouen | FRA | 12 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Dragons de Rouen | FRA | 22 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 310 | 21 | 75 | 96 | 290 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | ||||
| KHL totals | 191 | 19 | 68 | 87 | 184 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 22 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Canada | U18 | 4th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2005 | Canada | WJC |  |
3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Canada | WJC | |
6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 18 | |
| Junior totals | 14 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 26 | ||||
Awards and Honours
These are some of the awards and honours Cameron Barker received during his hockey career.
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| All-Rookie Team | 2003 | |
| CHL All-Rookie Team | 2003 | |
| Ed Chynoweth Cup (Medicine Hat Tigers) | 2004 | |
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2008 | |
| KHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2016 | |
| Most Points by Defenseman (40) | 2016 | |
| Ligue Magnus | ||
| Champions (Dragons de Rouen) | 2021 | |
