Login

***sve7en*** · 03-23-2020, 02:50 PM

[899 words, ready for grading]

This is the sixth entry on The Player's Tribune in an ongoing series following hockey prospect Jimmy Wagner through his journey of playing professionally. You can read his first piece “Hey Dad” here, or view the index of his entries here.

It was a calm summer afternoon when my phone started to ring. Sara and I had just gotten back from our workout at the local high school’s track, and we were talking about her continually narrowing list of schools. With me getting drafted to Los Angeles, USC was firmly in her top four, along with Auburn, Texas San Antonio, and Duke. Listing the pros and cons wasn’t getting us anywhere though, all four schools had deep pedigrees and good academic sides to them as well.

I checked the caller ID, fully ready to dismiss it, when I saw the name at the top:

Fox McCloud, the Kraken manager

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

...

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,

For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

“O Captain! My Captain!”

-Walt Whitman

We didn’t have captains growing up, which is fair. Kids don’t yet have the same capacity for leadership and it would just be a popularity contest. When I was 17 I played up on a U20 team though, and that’s when I started learning what those letters on the chest were all about.

Erik Powers.

What a cool name, right? A couple months shy of 20, charismatic as hell, everyone loved him, and he had a silky smooth shot to boot. He was the face of the team, but it was how he handled that adornment from everyone that really solidified him as a leader. If someone was upset, hockey related or not, he was by in their ear as a calming but authoritative voice. He knew how to reach people, what they needed to hear, and was so good at lifting the entire team up to a championship level. He was an incredible motivating force.

The other captains I had might be a bit more familiar to you if you follow the SMJHL and SHL prospect scenes.

Tom Fiddler, Alexei Rykov, and Joseph Weston.

The three of them were incredible presences in a locker room full of mature leaders. Fiddler was the calming force, stoic but not unreachable on a personal level, he was a rock that we could all anchor ourselves to. Rykov was the maintainer of expectations, he set the tone and then led us by example to achieving those goals. Weston was the force and the focus, he knew how to take the players around him and push them in individual ways to let them achieve what their potential was.

“Jimmy, hey. Congrats on getting picked up by LA. You and Cuddles both going top 5 is wonderful. Trella and I have been talking about the upcoming season though, and we’re in a weird spot with most of the veterans being gone. With how you took both the team and the league by storm last season, and being recognized as an up and coming star with that top 5 pick, we want to name you as the new captain next week. What do you say?”

What could I say?

Honestly, I was stunned at the time. Velveteen Dream was the lone returning veteran, and I just assumed it would be him. I honestly wasn’t expecting any letter at all, with how much people in our class looked up to Cuddles and Eller.

I knew what to say though, the words left my mouth as I was still processing it in my mind.

“Absolutely.”

The preseason starts next week, and I’m starting to get used to the extra weight on my chest.

It’s been a busier off-season than I expected. I went with Fox and Trella to the draft, talked to a lot of rookies, and then suddenly I was the one making decisions to pick some kids for the organization over others. It was surreal, but it was a show of trust from the management staff and I would answer the call.

We have an incredible class of rookies, despite not picking in the first two rounds, and that has me so excited for the remainder of my time here in Carolina. We’re definitely going to be ready to chase cups once these kids get their sea legs. The way they look at me though, I know it’s the same way I’ve looked at Powers, Fiddler, Rykov, and Weston. I know that the way they led is now ingrained into who I am as a hockey player, as a person, and as a leader.

I am their anchor, and I will keep them grounded when the whirlwind hits.

I am their foundation, and I will lift them above me so they can reach their peaks.

I am their leader, by example and by direction.

I am their captain, and they deserve nothing less.