By Dave Pollard, guelphstorm.com exclusive 
Expectations are a funny thing, particularly for up and coming junior hockey players.

Set the bar too high and you're setting yourself up for a season of frustration and disappointment. On the other hand, if you don't expect much out of yourself, you're bound to fail.

It's a fine line that every Ontario Hockey League player walks during the off-season and, at times, during the season.

With that in mind, Guelph Storm defenceman Tim Campbell might have gotten a little ahead of himself when he started thinking about what he wanted to accomplish during the 2009-10 campaign. It was easy to see why he would expect huge strides this year, given that he was coming off a strong finish to his rookie season in '08-09.
But those expectations haven't translated into reality for much of the season, although it should be noted that Campbell is playing much more consistently in both ends of the rink these days.

"I think everyone anticipated he'd take that next step," Storm head coach and general manager Jason Brooks said. "I don't want to say he thought (his second season) would be easy because that's not fair. But if you're a player coming into your second season, you think you've seen it all. Sometimes it doesn't go according to plan.”

"What hurt him this year was trying to be too fine making the perfect pass all the time. That's all part of the learning curve. He played with an injury and had to sit out with another. Sometimes your second year doesn't go according to script."

Although Brooks wasn't quite ready to write off the sophomore defenceman's season, the screenplay Campbell has been reading from is more of a tragic comedy than a fairytale. It's even been a nightmare at times but some of that is a result of his own high expectations.

"There's definitely been some frustration along the way," Campbell admitted. "I haven't put up the kind of numbers I wanted to. My expectations were definitely higher than what I've achieved. I've just tried to be the best I can be. I'd hoped the numbers would come but I just haven't been getting the bounces. I think I've improved a lot defensively, I'm not getting beat as much as I did. I feel like I've proven to them that I'm a team guy and would do whatever it takes. But disappointment is the right word, not just because of myself. You feel you're part of the reason the team is losing."

It's not hard to see why everyone expected more out of Campbell, a 6-foot, 190-pounder from Thornhill, this season. He showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie -- in a win over Owen Sound early in the 2008-09 season, Campbell racked up four assists, including three on the power play -- and was solid in the Storm's four-game loss to the Saginaw Spirit in the first round of the playoffs.

Campell finished his first season with one goal and nine assists and appeared poised to take on a much bigger role with the Storm in his second year. With a low, accurate shot from the point part of his arsenal, the recently-turned 19-year-old appeared set to become a fixture on the power play.

"I think his offensive upside is still very big," Brooks said. "We've seen flashes of it. This year has kind of been the same. There are games where everybody loves what he's doing and games where we don't. He needs to be solid at both ends. If I wanted another forward out there, I'd put out four forwards and one defenceman. But he's shown lately that he can play in both ends. He's showing the puck-moving skills we know he has and his defensive game is getting better. You're seeing the skill level he possesses. As of late he's been playing very well."

Injuries may have played a role in hampering Campbell's development this season. Perhaps time missed as a result of a concussion and knee injury took a toll.
Campbell got the concussion when he was hit by Michael Liambas -- yep, that Michael Liambas -- during a game in Erie early in the season. Then just before Christmas, in a home game against the Plymouth Whalers, Campbell banged up a knee, an injury he says was diagnosed as a slight tear of the medial collateral ligament.

"I hate to use anything as an excuse," Campbell said. "Before I got my concussion I felt I was playing pretty well. You're off for three weeks and have to come back cold turkey. Then I had the knee injury a couple of games after (coming back from) the concussion. (The knee) is doing pretty good but I'm wearing a brace now until the end of the season."

A sixth-round draft pick in 2007, Campbell has seen his playing time fluctuate this season, in part because Brooks has added veteran defencemen Chris Van Laren and Ryan Gottschalk through trades during the season and brought in Sam Lofquist from the NCAA ranks. Gottschalk and Corey Syvret, both overagers, won't be back next season and Van Laren and Lofquist would both be OAs in 2010-11 -- the Storm might not want to fill two of three overage spots on blueliners -- so there could be some primetime playing time for Campbell.

"I think he thought he was getting bumped aside," Brooks said. "It's easy to say he hasn't played a lot because of coaches. It's up to Tim to take that next step. For Tim moving forward, if he can take the strong play he's shown here into next year, it's wide open for him. It's up to him. We had the expectation of him playing a bigger role this year. Part of it will be up to Tim and his maturity. He's playing with confidence now and that's a credit to him, he didn't give up."