As we go into the 2010-2011 NHL season, 26 out of 30 teams have captains. Some of these captains have been leading their team for several years, while others received the honor over the summer.
Since NHL captains represent five distinct age groups, I became curious. I wanted to see if it was better for a team to have a younger captain as opposed to an older one who has been playing for several years.
Each side has its pros and cons, and I am going to examine some of the arguments for why a team would pick a younger or older player to lead.
Before I came up with my reasoning, I I gathered a list of captains from every team that has one. After that, I counted how many captains were in each age group.
Here is what I found:
20-25 Years Old
Ryan Getzlaf: 25 (Anaheim Ducks)
Eric Staal: 25 (Carolina Hurricanes)
Jonathan Toews: 22 (Chicago Blackhawks)
Dustin Brown: 25 (Los Angeles Kings)
Shea Weber: 25 (Nashville Predators)
Mike Richards: 25 (Philadelphia Flyers)
Sidney Crosby: 23 (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Dion Phaneuf: 2 ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Alison Myers
Leaders of the Pack: Do Younger or Older NHL Players Make Better Captains?
October 6th, 2010 by Alison Myers Leave a reply »
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