Hockey league names defensemen award after Minnesota sheriff's deputy

In the State of Hockey, we’ve got a sheriff's deputy whose on-ice exploits have earned him some extra special hardware.

In fact, they are naming a trophy after him.

"And it's something that's, you know, that I miss on a day-to-day basis, is hanging out in the locker room, maybe having a beer, you know, talking with guys and, you know, just getting together and, you know, being kids again," said Deputy Campbell Blair.

FOX 9 had a chance to sit down with Washington County Deputy Campbell Blair. Today, he wears a different uniform but he is a hockey guy to the core who played and coached all over the U.S., Canada, even England.

"I have some great memories of playing everywhere," said Blair. "I mean, I've done lots of different things in my 56 years, and probably playing Junior was one of the highlights of my career."

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It was in juniors, in his late teens, where Deputy Blair shattered records. He played on the blue line in the British Columbia Hockey League in western Canada for several seasons on his way to earning a scholarship to the University of Maine. During his time, he notched the most goals and points for a defenseman in a single season. And some 35 years later, he is still the BCHL’s all-time leading defenseman in some of the top offensive categories.

This is a league that pumps out some of the best in hockey including Hall of Famer Brett Hull and current Minnesota Wild player Brandon Duhaime.

"That stood the test of time," said Jesse Adamson with the British Columbia Hockey League. "No one's really come close to cracking it. So it really says a lot about the type of defenseman he was, the type of player he was, and the type of impact he had on our league."

League spokesman Jesse Adamson told us over Zoom from Canada given all the records and his overall impact on the sport made it a no-brainer for the 60-year-old league to name its annual award given out to the top defenseman for Deputy Blair introducing the Campbell Blair Trophy.

"It's pretty cool," said Blair. "You know, I'm not going to lie."