Former Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward heard his name literally called at the 2025 NFL Draft Thursday night, but he was very much not the No. 1 pick of the Tennessee Titans. University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward, the 22-year-old rocket-armed NFL prospect, was indeed the person in question. Not retired NHL goalie Cam Ward, now 41 years old.

Some names are a little more common than others. The name Cam Ward, for instance, has at least a pair of professional athletes who have had that for their name. One of the proverbial Cam Wards was just selected first overall in the NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans.

The name Cam Ward has very different meanings in North Carolina's Research Triangle and the rest of the country. In Raleigh, N.C., he is forever the nerve center of the Carolina Hurricanes' 2006 Stanley Cup team—the rookie who backstopped his squad to the promised land.