Heart-and-soul will lead the green-and-gold this season.
Two-way centreman and consummate teammate Jordie Lawson was announced as the captain of the Okotoks Oilers while wingers Trey deGraaf, Carter Huber and blueliner Carson Beers were named alternates for the 2016-17 season.
“I thought in the back of my mind I could get it, but I didn’t think it would happen this soon,” said Lawson, entering his third season with the squad. “Now that I have it, I’m honoured and can’t wait to get the season going.
“I know what it takes to be a leader and I’ve had some good captains in the past so I’ve learned from them and can hopefully do a good job.”
The 20-year-old can point to his biggest successes in hockey to find leadership personified as a member of the Telus Cup champion Red Deer Chiefs in 2013, a tight-knit group led by team captain Quinn Brown.
“They harped on it being a family, that no matter what we stick together,” he recalled. “That no matter what if you just do your role the best you can and by the end it won’t matter if you’re not scoring all the goals, in the end the result is much better.”
He continues to be inseparable with one member of that family and coincidentally it’s someone he’ll be sharing the leadership load with in deGraaf. Both players wore the ‘A’ last season in Okotoks.
“We live together and we’re pretty much best friends,” Lawson said. “If I have questions I can talk to him and I know he’s a good leader so he will help take some of the load off me.
“He could have been a captain, too. I know he’s got my back.”
Teammates dating back to minor-midget in Red Deer, the central Alberta duo have formed a kinship through five full seasons together on the ice.
deGraaf has been one of the offensive catalysts ever since putting on the Oilers jersey as a 78-point contributor through two seasons in Big Rock Country.
“For him to get the C, I think it’s the right choice and I’m happy to be his assistant,” deGraaf said. “He just leads by example, he’s not the loudest or most vocal guy, but a lot of guys look up to him the way he carries himself. He’s a two-way player, takes care of the d-zone, does what the coaches ask and that’s all things you look for in a captain.
“It means a lot that they put their trust in us. We have a bit of experience so hopefully we can bring it here and lead this group.”
With the power comes responsibility.
Lawson sees captaincy as a combination of always being available and always being ready.
“I’ve got to be a guy that everyone can look up to, look to when they’re down or have questions,” Lawson added. “I need to be able to steer the team in the right direction when we’re down, or having a bad game.
“I have to turn it around, whether it’s a big hit, I just have to be there for everyone.”
The Rimbey native has been a rock at both ends of the ice since joining the club at the outset of the 2014-15 season.
The steady pivot potted a career high 24 points in 49 games last season while playing a major checking role against top lines and on the penalty kill.
Beers, the longest-serving player on the back-end, leads a promising defence group which is almost entirely entering its second season with the club. The Taber native was a finalist for the Defenceman of the Year award in the AJHL last season.
Huber, a sophomore winger from Calgary, earns a letter after turning heads as a first-year with his relentless grit and determination with a consistent work ethic which endeared him to teammates and supporters alike.
With 15 players returning, the captains won’t have to be doing many introductions.
“There are lots of leaders around that room, everybody that came back,” Lawson said. “We just have the letters, but everyone around has to help out if we’re going to win a championship.”
