Hughes welcomed to captaincy club by five former Canucks captains
The Vancouver Canucks have a new leading man.
Before the puck dropped in their season opener against the Edmonton Oilers, the Canucks held a special pre-game ceremony to celebrate Quinn Hughes as the organization’s new captain.
Former Canucks captains welcome in the newest captain, Quinn Hughes. š #NHLFaceOff | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/DiTzGUijOT
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 12, 2023
Several former Canucks captains were in attendance for this special ceremony including Henrik Sedin, Orland Kurtenbach, Trevor Linden, and Stan Smyl who recently left his hockey operations role with the organization.Ā They all participated in an on-ice presentation before puck drop to celebrate the team’s new captain.
#Canucks captains past and present. pic.twitter.com/uoyrJ4BwGy
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) October 12, 2023
Former Canucks captains Roberto Luongo and Markus Naslund weren’t in attendance, but gave video messages for Hughes on the team’s new videoboard.
Hughes is the 15th overall captain in franchise history, and only the third defenceman with the C. The other two defencemen to be captain of the Canucks are Doug Lidster and Kevin McCarthy.
The 23-year-old Hughes becomes the youngest Canucks captain since Trevor Linden received the honour as a 20-year-old in 1990.
While he will be the only one with the C sewn on his jersey, Hughes will be able to rely on a strong group of veteran leaders on the roster. Players like J.T. Miller, Ian Cole, and Tyler Myers have decades of NHL experience and will be there to help Hughes in his transition to being captain.
The team’s last captain, Bo Horvat, was traded to the New York Islanders last season for a package that included Aatu Raty, Anthony Beauvillier, and a draft pick. The team went without a captain for a few months after Horvat was traded last season.
Hughes really stepped up last season and started to be a much more vocal voice in the dressing room, regularly earning praise from his peers and the coaching staff alike for his leadership skills.
Tonight marked the first game of his sixth season with the Canucks for the American-born defenceman. He was originally drafted by the team with the seventh overall selection in the 2018 NHL Draft.
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