On Monday morning at their annual golf tournament, the team announced Nick Suzuki will be the 31st captain in Montreal Canadiens history. At 23 years old, he is the youngest captain in franchise history to wear the C on his jersey.
” It’s a true honor for me,” he said after the Canadiens head coach Martin St Louis introduced him to the Montreal media. He added, ” This team is heading in a great direction, and I couldn’t be more excited to be the captain and represent the team.”
The kid from London, Ontario, who is getting ready to play his fourth season in the NHL, was super happy to take on this new challenge.
“It means a lot just to see the respect that management, my teammates, and the coaches have for me, and I know it’s a big role, but I think I am ready for it.”
He added, “There is a bright future here, and I am glad to be a part of it.”
Brendan Gallagher and Joel Edmundson were named associate captains and gave their thoughts on their new leader.
“He’s the heartbeat of our team. He’s our leader, and we’re happy to follow him,” said Gallagher. “Any way that I and Ed can make it easier on him, we’re going to be here to support him along the way. He’s younger, it might be a little different for him, but he’s fully ready for this opportunity. I think he’s comfortable, and most importantly, he’s got the support of our entire locker room. We’re happy to follow him, and we know how strong of a leader he is.”
“We’re building something special here. We’re starting young, and there’s no better place or time to get Nick wearing the C,” Edmundson said. “We leaned on him in tight games down the stretch, and he always proves himself right on the ice. In the locker room, he’s an easy guy to talk to. He’s very smart, and he wants to learn more and more every day about hockey. He loves hockey. When you can lean on a guy like that on and off the ice, that’s a guy who deserves to be captain.”
The Canadiens also announced a new partnership for this season with RBC and will wear their logo on their jerseys.
