Sam Carrick named Brampton Battalion captain
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Sam Carrick has been named captain of the Brampton Battalion for the 2011-12 season, the Ontario Hockey League club announced Thursday.
Centre Carrick has as his alternates defenceman Cameron Wind, left winger Ian Watters and winger Barclay Goodrow.
Stan Butler, director of hockey operations and head coach, named the team’s new leadership crew before the season opener at 7:30 p.m. Friday against the visiting Barrie Colts.
“Sam brings a lot of good things to the team,” said Butler. “He’s one of two players who’s in his fourth year and was part of the team that went to the OHL final in 2009, so I think that in itself is one of the reasons.
“He’s a hardworking guy, he’s well respected by his teammates and he possesses a lot of the qualities that we were looking for in a successful captain.”
A resident of Stouffville, Ont., Carrick is the 11th captain in Battalion history. A first-round pick in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection, he served as an alternate last season under Stephon Thorne.
“It’s a huge honour,” Carrick said of the appointment. “I’m going into my fourth year now and really looking forward to getting the season started.”
Carrick, 19, scored 16 goals and added 23 assists for 39 points in 59 games last season. He has 47 goals and 55 assists for 102 points in 186 games overall.
“His job is to help the coaches make sure the team is ready to play on a nightly basis, be the coaches’ eyes and ears when we’re not in the dressing room and make sure the messages we’re trying to give to the players are getting through,” noted Butler.
Said Carrick: “I want to help the young guys out, answer any questions they have and try to bring this team together. It’s about making them feel comfortable.”
Butler said he’s looking for Carrick to lead by example.
“On the ice I expect him to set the tone in practice, working with the younger players and competing very hard every game.”
A fifth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League’s 2010 Entry Draft, Carrick attended Toronto’s training camp this year and last. He said he hopes he can transmit that experience to his teammates.
“I got to see what it’s like to be an NHL player for the Leafs, see how hard those guys work and see how fast-paced the practices and games are. It’s something I can bring back here to help prepare these guys if they’re going into one, and hopefully I can answer any questions they have.”
Said Carrick: “One of the biggest things I can bring is my experience. I have a little bit of playoff experience, going to the finals in my first year and beating the Kingston Frontenacs out in seven games my second year.”
Wind, a Barrie resident, was a third-round choice in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection. He and Carrick are the only two Troops remaining from the 2009 Eastern Conference champions who lost in five games to the Windsor Spitfires in the league final. He contributed one goal and 14 assists for 15 points in 64 games last season.
While Carrick and Wind were appointed by Butler, for the first time in club history there was a players’ vote for the other alternate positions, with Watters and Goodrow getting the nods.
Overager Watters, a resident of Pickering, Ont., was taken in the eighth round of the 2008 OHL Priority Selection. He finished second on the club in scoring last season with 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 68 games.
Goodrow, a resident of Aurora, Ont., was a first-round pick in 2009. He led the Troops in scoring last season with 24 goals and earned 15 assists for 39 points in 65 games. At 18, he’s the youngest member of the leadership group.
Goodrow, who suffered a separated shoulder mere minutes into his first rookie-camp game with the Carolina Hurricanes, will miss the season opener. While he recovers from his injury, right winger Philip Lane will wear an ‘A’.
Butler said that rookie right winger Jordan Poirier will play two games this weekend with the junior A Orangeville Flyers, delaying his OHL regular-season debut. The Battalion visits the Sudbury Wolves on Saturday night in its second and last game of the opening week.
