"C" is for Character

Earlier this summer, I talked about the qualities of a good NHL captain and what teams would be choosing new captains this upcoming season. In the last 2 days, The Blues named David Backes captain and the Rangers named Ryan Callahan captain - two true character guys who are right for the job. Picking the captain can often be tricky, because many people don't see in the locker room and see truly which guys stand out. The obvious choice to the average hockey fan is the best player, ie. when Sidney Crosby got the C at age 21, but unlike Crosby leadership doesn't follow for every top scorer and often times the top player isn't the right choice for captain. First I will look at the Blues and David Backes:

For those of you who don't know about Backes, he is all that you want in a power forward and more. On a team with so many promising young forwards, Backes stands alone as the leader of the group and that is why he was chosen as the Captain. He is a 200-foot hockey player, while he excels in the offense zone with his size and skill, he plays a tough, fast-skating defensive game which makes him so valuable. The pressure might be on his shoulders at first to lead this young team, but with time Backes will quickly become a great leader in St. Louis such as past captains Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis were.

New York Rangers name Ryan Callahan captain:

Now this is the really interesting, but equally great choice as Backes was for St. Louis - in Callahan you get a player that leads by example and isn't afraid to do anything for the team. Callahan has moved his way up from a 4th liner to now as team Captain, especially in a forward group that has Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards on it this is extremely impressive for the overlooked Callahan. He was always known as a gritty, defensive player one who excels on the PK where he can fly around the rink. It wasn't until last year where we saw Callahan's skills offensively, and thus the Captain choice is justified - Callahan is a two-way player in every aspect, and he leads by his play on the ice which is the most important quality of a captain. I really like this decision, and believe Ryan will thrive with the leadership role he is given. Nice to also see Brad Richards receive an A (as well as Marc Staal again). Look for a brighter future in New York.

Both of these players will have a lot of opportunity to prove themselves this season, but will ultimately succeed in their role. I think that the captain brings tremendous confidence for a player, especially these two "character" guys who truly deserved to be captain

-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News