Who do you think should be the next Captain of the Spirit since Flache won't be back ?

I think Bissonette or Sturgeon. Thoughts?


Yzerbear

I think that Taylor Raszka would make a great captain even if he is pretty young because he will be a key player for the Spirit in the future. What are your thoughts?

I was thinking about Raszka as a possible choice. If he stays in Saginaw a while that could provide some stability in the leadership area, but the question would be if he is ready to take on that kind of a role. That is why I think it will be Bissonnette or Sturgeon. Maybe name Raszka or Jean-Michel Rizk as one of the alternate/assistant (whichever word it is) Captains.



Yzerbear

I will be very surprised if our new captain is anyone other than Paul Bissonette. Look for Adam to again wear the "A". My guess is Jean-Michel Rizk will get the nod for the other "A". I think he has the inside track because of the fact that he was our #1 pick, and based on his being named Captain of Team Canada's U-17 team. I am not sure you will see Taylor as captain of this team. He could wear an "A" sometime down the road perhaps if and when Jean-Michel wears the "C".

yes i agree for next year it seems to be a no brainer for the "C" to go to bissonette and the 2 "A"'s to go to sturgeon and possibly rizk but dont forget about possibly steve dix who will be an over -age next season in the future i could see rizk as a captain with possibly raszka and borges or someone else whos young right now

Carl, I know what you are saying. I think Rizk has the inside track for the "A" based on a couple of things. First, I think there is going to be a real effort to solidify the Spirit as a Saginaw Team. This would give Rizk the edge over, say Steve Dix. There is no guarantee that Dix will make the team next season and I thing team management is going to look more towards the future than to the past. I think Rizk being named as Captain of Team Canada's U-17 team also bodes well for consideration of leadership positions for the Spirit. Having Rizk wear the "A" this coming season, sets him up for the "C" down the road. I can see Raszka and Borges wearing an "A" sometime down the road, but doubt either one will ever wear the "C". Just my opinion.

yeah i think you're right on that one rizk is the future and dix is the past and like you said jean -michel was the captain of the ontario team so he will most likely get the nod. i also would wait to maybe see players they gather from trades or free agency because they are in desperate need of a few good older guys who maybe have good leadership.

The fun begins next Saturday with the draft. Can't wait to see how our new team comes together. Ottawa has like 10 19 year olds on their team. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see us trade with them to pick up one or two of those guys as over agers. We have 4 19 year olds but I only expect one or two of those guys back. No inside information, just a gut feeling. I guess that is the fun part of this time of the year. Everyone's guess is as good as the next until the final decisions are made.

once i again i agree with you fox, i know for a fact that they want to find some 18 and 19 year olds for next season. you need kids this age to be competitive i.e. ottawa 3 20 year olds 10 19 year olds

C - Bissonette
A - Sturgeon
A - J.M. Rizk



AAAAAAAAY!

C - dj jelitto
A - james edgar
A - mike pain










just joshing you all

personally i think Geoff Platt will be the captain he was the best one on the team last year in my opion. He had the most goals and everything. Now i think it would be good to have some younger players have like the A or something like taylor. But personally i think geoff should get the captain. taylor should get an A and sturgeon or risk should get the other A

Jenna, There is no question Geoff was a great contributer to this team. I fully expect him to lead the team in goals this year as well. The Captain designation is not a reward for scoring the most goals. It is rare for any teams leading scorer to also be the captain. In fact, we don't want Geoff to have that additional responsibility. We want him to focus on the 4' X 6' red rectatangle at the other teams end of the ice. The reason Chris Thorburn and Peter Flache were good captains was because of their age and experience. I will be shocked if the new captain is anyone other than Paul Bissonette. I also think Taylor needs another year under his belt before he is ready. No matter what, this coming year is going to be even more exciting thant the first.

I agree Geoff would be great!

The captain of a team is selected because of his or her, ability to lead the team. Geoff was by far the best player and probably the most consistent one on the ice all year. But, a good captain needs to focus on driving his team and Geoff's focus was and should be on driving the net. Look at Steve Yzerman, Steve was a great goal scorer while he was a captain early on, but the team always fell short of their goals. When Bowman came along, he taught Steve how to lead his team and look where it got him, less goals, more Stanley cups. When I coached Pee Wee hockey I chose my captains by giving the entire team a test after the last practice before the first game. The test was based on their knowledge of the game and how well they payed attention to what I told them. The top 3 scores became the captains and had 3 games to prove their worth, otherwise the next highest score stepped up. Personally, I would like to see one of the OA's wear the C but I guess Paul would be my second choice.

whoa whoa whoa i agree with whoever said your captain isnt always your best player, geoff platt is agreat player but i think would be a poor choice of a captain mainly because ive never seen him stand up for other guys and at 5'7 i dont think he should have to and besides how the hell could you not give it to bissonette he has like 2 gold medals from international play , plays smart and poised and can handle himself physicaly and is a leader on and off the ice or so i hear, i also know for a fact he was one of the only guys besides the other yougins who was constantly in the weight room even when he didnt have to be there

Ahhh, but Paul isn't as cute as Geoff (or Taylor). Don't they give the 'C' & 'A's' to the cutest players? (Good LORD!)

My vote is for Sturgeon. Remember he got the heart and soul award that was voted on by the team. That tells me the team respected him and thought very highly of him. Not only is he one of the older players, he is well liked by the team and seems to have earned their respect. I believe the coaches are happy with his performance as well.

I think Paul would also be a likely choice and has a good chance of being selected based on his performance, age and experience as serving as captain in another capacity, however, I still give my vote to Sturgeon.

As far as the younger guys go...they haven't earned the respect of the team yet. They still have a few years to prove themselves. I wouldn't count out Razka and some of the others in the future but not this year.

ok look i never said the best player should get the captin i just believe geoff would be good as captin and to whoever said dont the cutest players get the C or the A's
i never said that eaither. Anyway Geoff has stood up for the other guys and he is 5'9 and what does that have to do with being captin. He is a good responisble person that helps his team out.

i think you misunderstood me i am not saying a captain has to drop the gloves every shift but usually a captain type guy such as sturgeon or bissonette will step in for younger or smaller guys i.i saw sturgeon and bissonette fight guys twice their size and a few occasions not that that makes them a captain but its just a trait that most guys that wear the c have

just because they fight dont make them a good captain they
have to be good at what they do stick up for other players and dont get in fights to get in them only do it if they have to which is what geoff did

I think Bissonnette should wear the 'C', however, I think Sturgeon would be a good pick, also. Platt flies off the handle too much & has a tendency of 'talking back' to the officials already, when he shouldn't be talking to them at all. I think the idea of Taylor getting the 'C' is pretty out there - he has not established himself with this team yet, much less has he shown any real leadership ability.

I skated with some of the guys last night in Bay City...and I was talking to Rasz..and he said that the captain is most likely going to be Sturgeon, and one of the assistants will be Jean-Michel...I forgot about the other one though!

probably Bissonnette. Either Paul or Adam would be fine picks, I would expect JM Rizk to wear the other A as many have speculated.



KING OF THE DANCING FREAKS

I think next years captain will be jean-michel rizk or bissonette,I don't think that it will be raszka. Maybe sturgeon

A fine pick indeed would be Bissonnette. Sturgeon a captain? I'm not sure how much each poster remembers but if you can recall he did not report to the Spirit because he was not satisfied with the situation here. And then they have the nerve to give him an "A" ? Weird huh how the last place team in the league could make anymore wrong decisions than they did. As for J-M , a solid 2nd half should definitely make him deserving of an "A". Waiting in the weeds who has only done good for the Spirit is trusty Ol' Gibson. You make the choice? Could it get any worse than the past season? Yes.

wait, sturgeon didnt report here, when ? like when he was traded or what? explain , or am i mis reading something?

I still say geoff should be captin. I thought he showed great leadership last year.

I believe Bissonette would be a great fit as captain.

Last year, Thornburn did a good job as the first captian, expecially before season began. Talking and meeting with him at different events, really gave a good impression to the fans of the quality of some of the Spirit players off the ice.

I am not sure on a personnel level how well he was as a captian in the locker room or on the ice. I guess I am not the best of determining that quality. But off the ice, he was a great P.R. person for the organization.

Maybe we can get a feel for some of this years players in the comming weeks as we see some of them appear at events around the area.

Binque ---

captian 2003-04 paul b 2004-05 captin thomas harrison 2005-06 captin patrick McNeill