Cameron Butler (born June 9, 2002) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Butler played for the Ottawa Jr. 67s under-14 team from 2014–15 to 2015–16, recording 40 points in 30 games. He attended

St. Andrew's College, Aurora St. Andrew's College (SAC) is an independent boarding and day school founded in 1899 and located in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. It is a university-preparatory school for boys in grades 5 to 12, with a focus on academic achievement, athletics, and l ...

, where he played for the hockey team, scoring four points in 2016–17 and one point in 2017–18. He also was a member of the York Simcoe Express U16 team in 2016–17, totaling 21 goals and 21 assists, and in 2017–18, scoring 57 points on 27 goals and 30 assists. Butler was selected in the second round – 27th overall – by the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

in the 2018

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) Priority Selection. In his first year with the team, he suited up for 66 games and scored 18 goals along with eight assists, for 26 total points. Butler played 39 games with the Petes in the 2019–20 season and scored 12 goals with nine assists before being traded to the

Niagara IceDogs The Niagara IceDogs are a Canadian Hockey League, major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in St. Catharines, Ontario, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was originally known as the Mississauga IceDogs and found ...

, with which he totaled six goals and seven assists while appearing in 27 games. Butler was eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, but went unselected. No games were played in the

2020–21 OHL season The 2020–21 OHL season would have been the 41st season of the Ontario Hockey League. After the 2019–20 OHL season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league initially planned to play a full 68-game regular season beginning in Sept ...

, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He became team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the IceDogs in 2021–22 and had 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 24 games before being traded in January 2022 to the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

. He finished out the season with them and had five goals and 13 assists in 40 games. Butler returned to the Generals for the 2022–23 season and recorded 55 points (27 goals, 28 assists) in 63 games. Butler signed an

amateur tryout The following are the types of hockey contracts that players may be signed to when they play professional ice hockey. NHL contracts Two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract which stipulates that an athlete's salary i ...

contract (ATO) near the end of the

2022–23 AHL season The 2022–23 AHL season was the 87th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 14, 2022, and ended on April 16, 2023. The 2023 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season, and began on April ...

with the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team based in Cleveland. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage F ...

. He appeared in three games that season for the team. On March 16, 2023, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

of the

(NHL). He played most of the 2023–24 season with the Monsters. On March 30, 2024, Butler was added to the Blue Jackets' roster as an emergency recall. The team's captain,

Boone Jenner Boone Robbie Jenner (born June 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a teenager, Jenner played four seasons of major junior hockey with the Oshawa ...

, had informed them that he was ill shortly before the game and the Blue Jackets had no extra players, " t there was a forward utler... two hours up the road." Butler was contacted and told to come as soon as possible. According to NHL.com, he "had the good fortune not to get pulled over as he raced" to the stadium in time for the game, arriving only a few minutes before it started. He ultimately played one shift – 54 seconds – in his NHL debut, a 4–3 win over the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. He returned to the Monsters after the game. One year later, on June 26, 2025, Butler was traded to the

in exchange for

Brendan Gaunce Brendan Gaunce (born March 25, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 26th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Gaunce ha ...

International play

Butler played for Team Canada White at the

2018 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is an ice hockey tournament that was held in Quispamsis and Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada from November 3 and 10. The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is held by Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (whic ...

. He appeared in five games, recording no statistics.

Personal life

Butler was born on June 9, 2002, in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Cameron 2002 births Living people Canadian ice hockey right wingers Cleveland Monsters players Columbus Blue Jackets players Ice hockey people from Ottawa Niagara IceDogs players Oshawa Generals players Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Undrafted National Hockey League players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen