Edmonton Oilers Name Connor McDavid Captain, Ready for New Frontiers
The Edmonton Oilers have named forward Connor McDavid the captain of the team. He is the 15th captain in franchise history for Edmonton and will prepare to lead the team to new frontiers. Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are the Oilers’ three alternate captains.
Your 2016-17 #Oilers captains! pic.twitter.com/yxWuuXR2x5
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 5, 2016
Not only does McDavid join a historic group of Oilers captains, he is the youngest captain ever in National Hockey League history, at 19 years old and 266 days. He also captained Team North America and the OHL’s Erie Otters.
“I’m very humbled and honored,” McDavid said of the “C.”
McDavid joins a legendary group of #Oilers captains. pic.twitter.com/sizbyIwtsR
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 5, 2016
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Head coach Todd McLellan announced the new leadership group following Wednesday’s practice, and spoke very highly of the new captain. McLellan compared McDavid to the likes of Steve Yzerman, because of his leadership and demeanor.
“When he returned to the lineup last year, he showed he was ready to take charge,” McLellan said of McDavid, whose rookie season was interrupted by a broken clavicle in early November.
The decision to make the 19-year-old captain has a lot of support behind it, coming from the coaching staff, management and players. Teammate Cam Talbot is excited for McDavid to lead the team going forward.
“There’s no better guy to lead this team moving forward than one of the best players in the league,” Talbot said.
This is the right move for Edmonton. Though it was 99 percent certain that McDavid would become captain, some had their doubts. He’s a young kid and still developing; however, he is an incredible player and all-around person, on and off the ice. Making him captain will not only help him become better but make the team better.
Having another honor under his belt will not burden him, especially if it’s in the form of a “C” on his jersey. Leading the Oilers, McDavid will prove himself on the ice and in the locker room, and give the Oilers someone to rally around. He will lead this team forward in this rebuild; he already is the face of the franchise, so why not let him have it, too?
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