The first number of the 2023 draft, Connor Bedard, has not yet made his NHL debut and they are ready to name him Chicago captain: “There is only one option for this position; of course, they will give you time. before assigning this title, but Chicago is already Connor Bedard territory, and at some point in the next few years, he will surely hit the ice with the letter “C” on his chest,” read a recent Sportsnet article.
Bedard is currently 18 years and 38 days old, which leaves him with an excellent chance to become the youngest captain in NHL history even as the season progresses. And at what age did the five youngest captains in the league get the patch?
Jonathan Toews – 20 years 80 days
The former Chicago captain, who will likely be replaced by Bedard, is the only person on this list who, at the time of receiving the patch, did not set the NHL record for fastest to reach the captaincy. But in Blackhawks history he remains the youngest captain, and by far the previous Hawks record holder was Darryl Sutter, who was 24 in the 1982/1983 season, the first captaincy.
Toews has long closed the topic of the Chicago captain’s patch, which at the beginning of the 21st century did not stop at a player’s jersey for more than two seasons. During this time, the captains managed to be Tony Amonte, Alexei Zhamnov, Adrian Aucoin and Martin Lapointe, who transferred powers to the 20-year-old Canadian center after Jonathan’s debut in the 2007/2008 season. The Blackhawks hardly regretted this decision: in the era of Taves’s captaincy, the Hawks doubled the number of Stanley Cups won (from three to six) and Presidential Cups (from one to two), and the forward himself became one of the main symbols. franchises for many years.
Meanwhile, Jonathan paused in his career:
“It hit me like a ton of bricks.” Toews has suspended his race, but will he be able to return?
Vincent Lecavalier – 19 years 315 days
The number one pick in the 1998 Draft received a patch at the end of his second season in the league, being one of the main stars in then-disappointing Tampa Bay. And although today Vincent is the undisputed legend of the Lightning, in 2001 it could be assumed that he would not achieve this status: the striker passed the game and fell out with coach John Tortorella, as a result of which the “C ” on Lecavalier’s chest changed to ” A”, and the “lightning” spent the entire championship without a captain.
The captain’s patch returned to Vincent before the 2008/2009 season, after winning the Stanley Cup, “Richard” and maintaining the only regular season with triple-digit points (108, 2006/2007) and since then he has not left it until that he left Tampa in 2013.
Retirement ceremony of the number by Vincent Lecavalier
Photo: AP/TASS
Sidney Crosby – 19 years 297 days
By the time he received the patch in 2007, Baby Sid was already a true superstar, confirming his status in both play and personal reward: In each of his first two NHL seasons, Crosby surpassed the 100-point mark, and in the In second place he took the Art Ross, becoming the youngest winner of this award. A few weeks after Sidney’s captaincy was announced, the Hart Trophy and Leicester Pearson Award winner, now named Ted Lindsay, joined his trophy case.
A golden era soon began for the Penguins: just a couple of years later, the Stanley Cup returned to Pittsburgh, and Sidney became the youngest captain to lift the coveted cup over his head, to which he later added two more with the Penguins. . Mario Lemieux, who was Pittsburgh’s last captain before Crosby, has every reason to be proud of his successor.
Gabriel Landeskog – 19 years 286 days
At one point, the Swede might not have been champion if Milan Heiduk had decided to give him the captain’s patch two weeks later. However, the Avalanche veteran decided to step down in early September 2012, which surprised Landeskog: “I had no idea why they called me. At first I was a bit surprised. I didn’t expect anything like that at all, especially at the current stage of my career. However, it seems to me that I am already prepared for this role. The club agrees with me.”
Gabriel can hardly be called a league superstar, unlike the already mentioned players, but he turned out to be a worthy captain – partners have repeatedly noted the leadership qualities of Landeskog, who often literally stood up for his teammates. The Swede managed to lead the Avalanche to the championship title, but after that, unfortunately, he never appeared on the ice. In May he underwent a knee cartilage transplant operation, after which Gabriel will have to miss an entire season, the second in a row.
gabriel landeskog
Photo: AP/TASS
Connor McDavid – 19 years 266 days
McDavid received his patch in just 45 games with the Oilers; His first season was marred by a broken clavicle, causing Connor to miss almost half of the regular season, but even this didn’t stop him from convincing the Edmonton headquarters to make him captain. . Shortly before receiving such status in the NHL, Connor passed the captain’s test drive at the adult level as part of the North American team at the 2016 World Cup, so he was already ready for a similar role among the “tankers.”
He, like his Edmonton, has yet to win the Stanley Cup, but the conference final a year ago is already a fine achievement for a team that, after 2006, almost completely forgot how to win the playoffs. Maybe one day McDavid will help the Oilers become the first Canadian championship team of the 21st century?
Meanwhile, Edmonton is far from a trophy:
The curse of oil Why McDavid ran out of the Stanley Cup again?
P.S. Brian Bellows played for the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, Montreal in the 1992/1993 season, who, at the age of 19 years and 131 days, replaced the injured Craig Hartsburg in January 1984 as Minnesota’s captain. North Stars., effectively making him the youngest captain in NHL history. However, this measure was temporary, so officially the championship in this category belongs to McDavid. Can Bedard overcome both?
