Cameron Wesley Janssen (born April 15, 1984) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. He was selected by the New Jersey Devils 117th overall in the fourth round of the

2002 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OH ...

. Janssen was widely regarded as one of the toughest enforcers in the league throughout his low-scoring tenure. Janssen is now a soccer guy after watching the 2022 World Cup. Just ask him.

Early life

Janssen grew up in the St. Louis suburb of

Eureka, Missouri Eureka is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, adjacent to the cities of Wildwood and Pacific, along Interstate 44. It is in the extreme southwest of the Greater St. Louis metro area. As of the 2020 census, the cit ...

, where he attended Eureka High School for three years. During his sophomore and junior years of high school, Janssen played for the St. Louis Sting of the Junior A

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternat ...

Playing career

In 2001, Janssen was selected in the third round of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

draft by the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975 ...

. Instead of completing his senior year at Eureka High School, Janssen moved to

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

to begin his first season with the Spitfires. After one season in Ontario, Janssen was drafted by the

as the 117th overall pick during the fourth round

. During the

2003–04 OHL season The 2003–04 OHL season was the 24th season of the Ontario Hockey League. In November 2003, the OHL Board of Governors renamed the OHL Humanitarian of the Year Award to the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy, in recognition of former Owen Sound Platers ...

, Janssen joined the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Ma ...

, where he participated in the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between ...

tournament. Jansen made his NHL debut against the Rangers on November 5, 2005. In his rookie NHL season, Janssen led the Devils with eleven fighting majors. On February 24, 2007, he scored his first career NHL goal and point against the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

at 10:33 in the second period in his 82nd NHL game, an NHL record for most games played by a skater before recording their first career NHL point. Cam Janssen 2011

In the second period of a regular season game against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

on March 2, 2007, Janssen knocked-out Toronto defenseman Tomáš Kaberle unconscious with a late hit to the head. Kaberle was carried off the ice on a stretcher. The NHL announced Janssen would be suspended for three games without pay for the incident, forfeiting $7,220.16. In an interview, Kaberle mentioned Janssen had not contacted him for reconciliation, and went on to say, "I don't care

o hear from him O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...

He doesn't respect me and I don't respect him." On March 30, 2007, Janssen injured his shoulder in a fight with Riley Cote of the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wel ...

and missed 4 games. He returned for the playoffs against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. Janssen was injured in the 2007 NHL preseason as well, suffering an injury in a fight with

Jesse Boulerice Jesse Boulerice (born August 10, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey forward. Primarily playing in an enforcing role, Boulerice played the majority of his National Hockey League (NHL) career for the Carolina Hurricanes. Backgr ...

. On February 26, 2008, Janssen was traded by the Devils to his hometown team, the

, for defenseman

Bryce Salvador Bryce Chadwick Salvador (born February 11, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Salvador was drafted in the sixth round, 138th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. During his professional c ...

. He made his Blues' debut two days later, wearing #55 against the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mu ...

. A free agent after his contract with the

expired in 2011, Janssen signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Devils on July 14, 2011 becoming the 22nd player to be re-acquired and play for the team. Janssen signed as a free agent on a one-year contract with the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won fou ...

of the EIHL on August 15, 2015. He announced the end of his professional career at the conclusion of the season on August 12, 2016.

Controversy

In July 2012, Janssen appeared on an

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

-based

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

show called "The Thom and Jeff Show" and subsequently delivered a profanity-laced interview in which he made several controversial comments, including one about gay players. Janssen later issued an apology for the incident, noting that he had "used poor judgment during the course of the show" and saying "moving forward, I hope to eliminate that type of language from my vocabulary. I would also like to take this chance to express my support for the work the You Can Play project is doing, and for the gay community in general."Devils' Cam Janssen apologizes for outburst of profanity on radio
/ref>

Career statistics

References

External links

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Cam Janssen Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janssen, Cam 1984 births Albany Devils players Albany River Rats players American men's ice hockey right wingers American people of Norwegian descent Guelph Storm players Living people Lowell Devils players New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players Nottingham Panthers players St. Louis Blues players Windsor Spitfires players Ice hockey players from St. Louis