The Edmonton Oilers have made Connor McDavid their captain.
His widely anticipated promotion finally made official Wednesday afternoon, McDavid was announced as the 15th captain in the history of the Oilers. At 19 years and 266 days old, he's the youngest player in history to hold the position for an NHL franchise.
Coach Todd McLellan spoke to the media soon after the announcement, and compared McDavid's leadership style to Steve Yzerman, the great former captain of the Detroit Red Wings.
"Connor is not a cheerleader. He's not jumping around in the locker room with pom-poms. He leads by example," McLellan said.
"I'm definitely not the most vocal guy in the room, not the loudest guy in the room at all," McDavid agreed. "I just try and lead by example in practice and out on the ice. I think I'm a guy that can relate to everyone, and (I'm) fairly close with everyone on the team. I'm going to try to bring guys together."
Edmonton also announced that newcomer Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will serve as assistant captains, forming a talented and experienced leadership core for McDavid to lean on.
"He's only entering his second season," Lucic said. "He's still very young. He's still got lots to learn. Older guys like myself can help him with a few things.
"I have experienced a lot in my career thus far, and I have been through a lot. That's why it's a leadership group. Obviously he's the captain and he leads the way, and he's the guy, but there needs to be the guys that follow, and help with it."
The Oilers were without a captain in McDavid's injury-shortened rookie year, when he totaled 48 points in 45 games.
Andrew Ference was the last player to wear the badge for Edmonton on a list that includes Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, and Craig MacTavish. The veteran defender served in the capacity in the two seasons prior to McDavid's arrival.
