CAMDEN E. CANTERBURY

Camden was destined for greatness! He had a million-dollar smile and lit up a room when he entered. His personality drew people to him knowing no strangers. He was quick-witted and always made people laugh. Always happy, friendly, and respectful. Helpful to anyone in need from Russian teammates to elderly neighbors. Most of his friends considered him their best friend. His saying was Life is a trip make it a GOOD ONE! He lived that every day in every aspect of his life. Camden had two passions in life, hockey, and fishing. Sports came naturally to him. He tried many sports, but hockey was his favorite and he excelled in soccer and lacrosse. He loved being outdoors hunting and fishing. His favorite times in life in life was hanging out with his teammates in the locker room to light up the mood after a loss or start the celebration after a win. He considered his teammates his brothers and would do anything for them. When not playing hockey, he would spend his time fishing for any type of fish. Which brings us to another Camden saying when fishing 

Packing Dip and Rippin Lips! 

Cam was fearless and adventurous from moving to Boston for hockey, moving to NY for a great job opportunity backpacking in the mountains. Camden always followed his heart and his dreams. Cam was intelligent, excelling in math and science but certainly not excited about academic achievement. He would tutor his friends in geometry and achieved a perfect score on the Ohio OGT in math. He was not excited about full time college, he took classes in Boston and attended Miami for a year. Never finishing his degree but it was not needed for him with his ability to talk to and earn the trust of others. He had finally found his calling when he moved to NY to work in business loans for his friend Nick. He excelled in sales, having the ability to earn customers' trust while building a team environment with his colleagues and making everyone feel valued and part of the team. The following is his story:

Camden was born in Raleigh, NC 8/31/98. From an early age Camden loved sports from the time he started to walk and play ball. He threw baseballs, bounced basketballs kicked soccer balls. No team would let him play until he was 4 years old then a baseball team said they would take a look at him and see if he could play. They took one look and said he could play and that was all it took!

Cam at 4 stayed with his aunt Jane and uncle Allen that had recently moved from FL to Lynchburg, VA. His uncle was a great ice hockey player Allen Bourbeau. Allen was the player of the year in Massachusetts three years straight. He played in the 1988 Olympic on Ice Hockey Team. After the Olympics he went back to Harvard where they won the NCAA Ice Hockey National Championship. He was then drafted by Philadelphia as the 35th pick. Allen and Cam's cousin Ryan would put hockey equipment on him, cut sticks down and play hockey in the basement. Camden went to his first hockey game and watched his cousin Ryan play, and Cam was instantly hooked he wanted to play hockey! During Cam's hockey career he always wore the #3 or a number with the #3 because that was Uncle Allen's number!

In 2003 Cam's father was transferred to Cincinnati. (2004) Cam was so excited that Cincinnati had a youth hockey organization Cincinnati Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA). He could hardly wait for the first practice. They put full hockey equipment on him and ice skates and sent him on the ice. He had never been on skates before. He fell, he ran into the boards, he tried to keep the puck on his stick we watched in fear that he would get hurt or be so frustrated he would never go on the ice again. Holding my breath, he came off and said that was Great when do we practice again!

Camden went on to play hockey seven seasons for the Cincinnati Jr Cyclones. Learning to skate and play hockey. Tom Gately and Jason Bowra coached him. Cam played on travel teams for his last 4 years, The travel teams played approximately 65 games a season. The teams were very successful at times winning over 20 tournaments, including the Buckeye, Three River, Detroit, Chicago, Tyler Metcalf, Nashville, and Canada. Cam received awards for MVP, Big Play Maker, and Player of the Game. He also recorded his first Hat Trick. Camden was always a great team mate always happy to make a great assist rather than a goal. He never worries about his stats, worries more about his team winning. During his time with the Cyclones Camden made many lifelong friends including one of his best friends Braeden Bowra.

During this time Cam also played soccer for Fairfield Optimist. His team was the #1 Select Youth Soccer Team from U8 to U12 playing in the Cincinnati United Soccer League. The team played approximately 45 games in two seasons per year. His Team was eventually selected to the Buckeye Travel League and Camden retired not wanting to travel for another sport. This team was very successful, winning 6 League Championships and 10 tournaments.

Camden spent the next two seasons playing Dayton, OH teams. He played for the Dayton Blue Hawks and the Dayton Stealth. He improved and got better but these teams were not as well coached or built a skill. He excelled on the Stealth and was a good score and assist leader. These teams won a few tournaments but not as successful as past teams.

Camden then moved to the Northern Kentucky Norse. This team's coaches were better at developing players. The coaches Dunne, Hogue, and Old Yeller knew how to get the best out of all players and taught them to play as a team. The NK coaches got Cam over his lack of confidence. Cam's skills and skating speed drastically improved. The NK Norse were a great hockey team. They won many hockey tournaments and were always considered skilled competitive opponents, always showing good sportsmanship. This team was invited to many special tournaments, the Nations Cup, Wounded Worries, as well as qualifying for the USA Hockey AA National Championships. The Norse participated in Nations Championships in Washington DC, Dallas, TX, and Buffalo NY. 

Cam also played hockey for Lakota West High School during his sophomore year.  Cam played all positions for the Lakota Team. He played on the Norse Team and the Lakota Team at the same time. One tournament in Indy, during the year U16 Norse team played 5 of the Cincinati area high school hockey teams including Cam's Lakota West team. The Norse U16 Team won the tournament and outscored the high schools 21-0

Even though he loved playing for Lakota West Cam only played one year. He id however meet a senior Eli Ellis on the hockey team they became immediate friends and became like brothers.

The NK Team placed third in the nation in Dallas and Buffalo. In Buffalo Camden scored the first goal for his team and had the assist on the second goal unfortunately his team lost to NH 3-2 but after the game a coach from the Boston Bandits came to the locker room and asked to speak to #3, He gave him a card and told him if we wanted to play high level hockey that he had an invite with the Boston Bandits.

Cam graduated from High School! He was 17 when he graduated. was smart and great in math and science not so much in English. Cam always tutored his friends and teammates in math and scored a perfect math score on the Ohio OGT. He was not sure about college or what he wanted to do. Cam was not sure of the Boston offer to play hockey. He had always played AA hockey and Boston would be AAA or Juniors hockey. His father convinced him to go to Boston and play in a summer tournament with the Bandits so he went and then talked to the coach about tryouts and the coach told him I saw you play so you have an offer I don’t care about skills you will get mad skills here I just recruit players that compete.

Cam decided to move to Boston and play. His father agreed that he could go if he took 2 classes at the local college. Cam decided to play U18 AAA instead of Juniors he had offers to play ether. He wanted to see if he could play at that level, He not only played at that level he excelled. He was the second leading scorer on the team and tied for the most assists. He went 5-0 on shootouts and was picked as the player of the game in two games that season. He was also one of the two fastest skaters on the team. He proved to himself that he could play with the best in the country. This boosted his self-confidence as a great hockey player.

The Boston Bandits Juniors Teams joined the USPHL and the coach changed for the Bandits Juniors Elite and Premier Teams. Cam had his exit interview and was told he would probably be on the 4th line Premiere or 1st Line Elite, but he needed to gain 20 lbs. of muscle during the offseason.  Camden was worried that we would not get much playing time, or any college offers. He signed up for a hockey showcase in Nashville, TN that had 30+ teams from U16 to Juniors Premiere. There 20 Teams at the Junior Level. The camp was 5 days with drills and games. At the end of the week there would be sheets on the board for every team and if your name were on the board the team wanted to meet with you. Unbeknown to Cam the Boston Bandits coach was there as well. End of the week all the sheets were up, and Cam was on all 20 teams. He was offered spots from NC, MN, NH, NY, and yes, the Boston Bandits, The Bandits coach told him he had underestimated his ability and that he was a Bandit and he needed to come back to Boston.

Camden decided to go back to Boston where he billeted with a family and two of his previous teammates. He double rostered on the Premiere and the Elite Teams. He was voted the Rookie Captain for the Juniors Teams and the Assistant Captain for the Elite Team. Cam became the fastest skater on the Elite Team. He never missed a Shoot Out Goal 9-0 in two seasons in Boston. Cam was playing on both teams' practices was double for him playing on both teams. He was having a good year scoring mostly on the Elite Team but still strong on the Premier. He broke his hand midseason and was out for 4 weeks. He came back and was playing well again. He was receiving college offers and was excited about the future. He unfortunately got a concussion right before Christmas break and did not tell his family. He came back after Christmas and two weeks later he got another severe concussion and could not play anymore. He stayed out for several weeks but played in the National Championship for the Elite Team. The team lost in the Semifinals of the championship.

During Cam's hockey career he played over 1000 games and sustained many injuries. He broke hands, wrist, ankles, and his back! He also suffered five concussions. He never let any injuries keep him from playing. If we could not play for a game or two, he was always at practice and on the bench for games supporting his teammates. Cam was always one of the smaller players but again he never let that stop him. He never was intimidated or backed down from any opponent.

Camden came home and went through the University of Cincinnati concussion protocol and after 3 months he was cleared to play again but he decided he could not take the chance of another concussion. Camden enrolled in Miami of Ohio and signed up to play hockey on the Inline Hockey Team. Braden Bowra was also going to Miami and playing on the hockey team. Cam excelled on the Inline hockey team. He scored several game winning goals against Ohio State and Michigan State. This hockey wasn't as exciting for Camden as most players were concerned about winning only about their game stats; Cam dropped out of Miami and quit playing inline hockey. 

Camden struggled for the next couple of years, he always wanted to play college hockey and now he could not, he was working but could not decide what he wanted to do. He suffered from depression and other issues. He finally started working in logistics and excelled. He worked for TQL and was on the rising stars. Cam always gave 100% in sports and work and if not, careful would burn himself out. He left TQL and was offered another job with Southern Logistics in Charlotte NC. He decided not to take the job in NC. He again suffered from depression not sure of all the underlying reasons it may have been a combination of not being able to play ice hockey anymore, multiple concussions, and/or abandonment anxiety associated due to a strained relationship with his biological mother, He attend counseling and worked at Bourbon House Pizza for his stepmother. He excelled working there and was offered a management position, but his heart was not in it, and he decided to take a job with his friend Nick Saccone in Long Island, NY. He moved there and hit it out of the park. He was making great money he and his boss were great friends and roommates. Cam was a great team builder and an inspiration to all the others in the office. He also found his since of style he was the best dressed employee in the office, and we took great pride in that. He was on his way to making a million dollars which was a goal of his. Camden's longtime friend and recent girlfriend Karlie had just moved to NY to be with him, and they started talking about marriage. Unfortunately, Camden passed away 3/27/2022 from a set of tragic circumstances.

With the passing of Camden Canterbury, the world has lost one of the best human beings I have ever known! Cam was always an unselfish teammate taking more joy in a great pass to someone scoring than his own stats. He wanted to win games for his team and teammates. He would fiercely defend any of his teammates and friends always taking up for smaller players or ones that could not defend themselves. He was a great friend to many, never talking bad about anyone, always finding good in everyone. His coach said he was a fierce competition on the ice but kind and gently off the ice. Always looking to improve his game. Camden was deeply loved by his five brothers and sisters (Madison, Stephanie, Jessica, Jennifer, Jeremy) his tight knit group of friends, (Braeden, Sam, Eli, Kevin, and Michelle) as well as his older cousin Ryan. This is why we have decided to start this Hockey Fund in his memory because Camden would have given everything, he had to any of his friends or hockey teammates if they needed it. We know he would be proud to have his name associated with helping hockey players play!