| Cameron Butler | |
| Birth Date: | 9 June 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 4 |
| Weight Lb: | 210 |
| Position: | Right wing |
| Shoots: | Right |
| Team: | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Prospect Team: | Cleveland Monsters |
| Prospect League: | AHL |
| Draft: | Undrafted |
| Career Start: | 2022 |
Cameron Butler (born June 9, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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, 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.[1]
Butler was selected in the second round – 27th overall – by the Peterborough Petes in the 2018 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection.[2] 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.[3] 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, with which he totaled six goals and seven assists while appearing in 27 games.[4]
Butler was eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, but went unselected.[4] [5] No games were played in the 2020–21 OHL season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] He became team captain 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.[6] He finished out the season with them and had five goals and 13 assists in 40 games.[1] Butler returned to the Generals for the 2022–23 season and recorded 55 points (27 goals, 28 assists) in 63 games.[1] [7]
Butler signed an amateur tryout contract (ATO) near the end of the 2022–23 AHL season with the Cleveland Monsters.[8] He appeared in three games that season for the team.[1] On March 16, 2023, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).[9] He played most of the 2023–24 season with the Monsters.[1]
On March 30, 2024, Butler was added to the Blue Jackets' roster as an emergency recall.[10] The team's captain, Boone Jenner, had informed them that he was ill shortly before the game and the Blue Jackets had no extra players, "[b]ut there was a forward [Butler] ... 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.[11] He returned to the Monsters after the game.[12]
Butler played for Team Canada White at the 2018 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[2] [13] He appeared in five games, recording no statistics.[1]
Butler was born on June 9, 2002, in Ottawa, Ontario.[14]