COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Growing up inside the hockey rinks of Rosemount, Mason Campbell and his younger brothers had no bigger fan than their mother Jayna...even if she never completely got a handle on the sport's finer points.
 
"We'd always kid her that she'd been in arenas so long, but she still didn't understand the game," recalled Campbell, now a senior captain on the Saint John's hockey team. "But she was always there to support us, always cheering, always celebrating anything we accomplished."
 
Those are the memories Campbell, his father Troy and younger brothers Cadyn and Carter have clung to even more tightly in the wake of Jayna's unexpected death at just 51 in January of 2025.
 
Her loss was a devastating blow to the family. But Campbell – a four-year standout at defenseman for the Johnnies – said he was grateful and touched by the support he received from his teammates and the greater SJU community.
 
"Everywhere I turned, someone was there to help," Campbell said. "My roommates were amazing. My teammates were there for me. The school was unbelievably accommodating. I had to miss three weeks and my professors were all great about it. There were alumni who reached out. It was so incredible.
 
"We had family and friends we've made throughout the years we could lean on too. There's such a great support system in the game of hockey. When you need it, there's a whole world there to support you."
 
Cadyn joined his older brother on the SJU roster this season, helping pull the family even more closely together.
 
"That's been really nice," said Campbell, whose youngest brother Carter is currently playing for Junior Gold in Rosmeount. "It's great for my dad because he doesn't have to drive all over to watch the two of us play in different places. And it's been fun sharing this season with (Cadyn). 
 
"He's three years younger than me, so we just missed playing together in high school. This is actually the first time we've ever been on the same team."
 
That family reunion has only enhanced a memorable season for Campbell and the Johnnies, who ended the regular season 15-6-4 overall and earned their first MIAC title in six years. 
 
SJU is now the top seed in the conference playoffs and plays host to No. 4 seed Bethel in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 28) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The Royals beat No. 5 seed St. Olaf 5-2 in the quarterfinals Wednesday (Feb. 25).
 
"The buy-in on this team has been the biggest key to our success," said Campbell, who will play in his 100th career game at SJU Saturday. "Every person on this team has the same goal. Nobody cares who scores. We all just want to win. Every time someone scores a goal, it's like we all did. There's the same level of excitement on the whole bench."
 
Campbell has always been an offensive-minded defenseman, a trait he's continued to exhibit this season. Heading into play Saturday, he has five goals (one shy of his season high as a freshman) and 10 assists. That brings his career total to 50 points (19 goals, 31 assists), which ranks him 12th on SJU's all-time points list for a defenseman.
 
"He's a bring-the-team-together type leader and he does a great job of that," Johnnies head coach Doug Schueller said. "But he's also our top defenseman. He's a dynamic player who makes things happen."
 
Schueller and Campbell share a unique connection. Schueller's father Dennis coached Campbell's father Troy at Simley High School.
 
"I didn't know that until Doug started recruiting me," said Campbell, who played junior hockey with the Minot Minotaurs and the Minnesota Magicians. "He came to see me play, and afterward I went home and told my dad about it. That's when he told me how far they go back. That made me take a harder look at Saint John's.
 
"Another big factor was that Jackson Sabo '25 was my next-door neighbor and one of my best friends. He decided to transfer from Air Force the year before I got here. He told me how much he liked the atmosphere, and when I came up to see the school, it became a no-brainer. It felt like the perfect fit."
 
An economics major, Campbell is planning to start his own insurance brokerage in the Rosemount area after he graduates this May.
 
"There have been a lot of people in the insurance world who've influenced me over the years, and I've gotten more and more interested in it as time has gone on," he said. "I've always known I wanted to start my own thing one day, and when the opportunity to do this presented itself, it was too good to pass up."
 
Before that, though, there is more hockey yet to play.
 
"We break the season up into three parts," he said. "The first goal is always to win the MIAC championship, and we've been able to accomplish that. The next step is to win the (conference playoffs) and get the automatic bid to the NCAA (Division III) tournament. 

"Then, if we can get there, we'll see how far we can go."