Boston Bruins: The Legacy of Gregory Campbell
Gregory Campbell was a member of the Boston Bruins for five seasons. Campbell (along with Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton) was part of the ‘Merlot Line’, once described as the best fourth line in the NHL. Campbell was never a prolific scorer for the organization (averaging just under eight goals a season while in Boston), but he brought so much to the ice as a member of the Black and Gold.
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Campbell was a solid skater, and much more than a common grinder-type player. He was all-too willing to drop the gloves to provide a push for his team. He was an excellent player to have on the penalty kill. He was one of those players that always stayed under the radar and got the job done for his team.
Two years ago, Campbell put himself in the way of an Evgeni Malkin slap shot. That shot broke his leg and ended his season. It also put him in the pantheon of Boston sports legends.
Campbell was part of the 2011 Stanley Cup Championship team. But number 11 brought more than a Stanley Cup to Boston. He delivered pies to homeless shelters every Thanksgiving. He helped out his brother Bruins in philanthropic events. But what may be Campbell’s greatest legacy for his time in Boston is the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Gregory Campbell initiated the Ice Bucket Challenge to bring awareness of ALS (or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) to the general public. ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Campbell was one of the first to accept the challenge as a way to increase awareness of the disease.
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Campbell found a way to get the entire Boston Bruins team involved in the challenge. Even Boston Bruins’ owner Jeremy Jacobs participated. Thanks to Campbell’s efforts the challenge spread. Then it became viral. Then it became a global phenomenon. Everyone got involved in dumping a bucket of ice (or in some cases a lot more) on their heads to promote the challenge.
In 2014, The simple campaign started by Campbell helped the ALS Association collect $115 million last year. (Compared to 2013, that is a 4,100 percent increase over the $2.8 million collected in 2013.)
Since Gregory Campbell got the whole world dumping ice water on their heads, there have been leaps and bounds made in the fight against ALS. Two years and $220 million in donations later, there has been a potential game changer in the fight against the disease. Research scientists at Johns Hopkins believe they have made a major breakthrough in fighting ALS.
Those scientists were thankful to the millions who have taken part in the challenge.
‘‘Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to come out with the studies as quickly as we did,’’ said Philip Wong, the professor at Johns Hopkins who is in charge of the research team. ‘‘The funding from the ice bucket is just a component of the whole — in part, it facilitated our effort.’’
The scientists were able to concentrate their research on a protein called TDP-43. Earlier in their research, they discovered that ALS patients often had clumps of this protein outside of their brain cells. The Johns Hopkins research team explain how TDP-43 breaks down and ends up killing those cells.
The researchers were able to design a special protein that mimics TDP-43. Once injected into the neurons, the previously dormant cells came back to life and the cell’s functions returned to normal. This could be the important first step in figuring how to slow down or even stop ALS, which currently has no cure.
A few years ago, Gregory Campbell got himself cold and wet to help out his friend Pete Frates. That simple act began a global campaign of charity and good will. Campbell has done some rather impressive things on the ice. For all the things he has done, this one act should be the biggest part of his legacy.