A new season and a new roster will feature three new captains.
At the conclusion of the final team practice prior to beginning the regular season in Milwaukee on Friday night, coach Jeff Daniels announced that veteran defenseman Michal Jordan will become the third captain in the team’s AHL history, following in the footsteps of Bryan Rodney and Brett Sutter. Additionally, relative newcomers Ben Holmstrom and Greg Nemisz will serve as alternate captains.
“Michal is a great example, a great pro and is well-respected in that locker room,” said Daniels. “He shows up every day ready to practice and ready to play the game and I think he’s a great example to the younger guys to follow.”
“I was kind of surprised,” said Jordan, a 24-year-old who is set to begin his fifth season with the Checkers. “I didn’t really expect it, but I’ve been around the last couple of years and obviously I’m one of the older guys. It’s a nice surprise.”
Though he previously served as an alternate captain in junior hockey with the Plymouth Whalers and was captain of the Czech Republic team at the 2010 World Junior Championship, Jordan had not previously worn a letter of any kind with the Checkers.
“The coaches said I should just keep doing what I’m doing – don’t change my game or anything like that,” said Jordan. “I’m going to do my best to do whatever I can possibly do on the ice because I’m a quiet leader in the locker room. I’m not going to talk that much – just do my thing and try to show the boys on the ice.”
Contrary to Jordan, who ranks second all-time behind Chris Terry in terms of games played as a Checker with 267, Holmstrom, an offseason signing, and Nemisz, who arrived in a Carolina trade with Calgary last December, had a much shorter window with which to make an impression on their coaches.
“It goes back to being a pro,” said Daniels. “Just the way they handle themselves on and off the ice. We got a taste of Nemo last year and Homer has been a captain for the last couple of years in Adirondack and is a guy that competes hard every single day in practices and games. That’s what it takes for these guys to watch and learn from and get to the next level.”
All three new captains, who replace Sutter, Terry and Nicolas Blanchard from last season’s team, are among the elder statesmen from a group that lost several others over the summer. Holmstrom is a 27-year-old veteran of 263 professional games, while Nemisz, 24, has played 235. All three have limited NHL experience.
“With a younger team this year, we want guys that lead by example,” said Daniels. “There are some other choices we could have made, and as I told the other guys, just because you’re not wearing a letter doesn’t mean you can’t be a leader. We have some younger guys on this team, and as a group we’ve got to make sure we stick together.”
