Guillaume Brisebois is the Charlottetown Islanders captain for the 2016-17 season.
Guillaume Brisebois has made a positive impression on his new teammates.
Two months after arriving in P.E.I., the Charlottetown Islanders selected him to be their captain for the season during a players’ vote earlier this month. The coaching staff announced it to the players a week ago in Quebec.
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Brisebois will make his home debut with the C firmly attached to his jersey Sunday at 3 p.m. when the Islanders play the second half of rivalry weekend with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
“It's a mark of confidence from my teammates,’’ Brisebois said Friday. “You’re always proud when you get a letter or you’re a leader on your team.”
Head coach Jim Hulton said he believes it’s important the players chose the leader.
“It has to be someone they believe in because they’re entrusting him to lead their group,’’ he said.
Brisebois is a three-year veteran in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and an NHL-signed defenceman. But Hulton said the Vancouver Canucks draft pick is also made an impression with the team and staff as a good person.
“He’s just a really thoughtful, caring, good teammate and I think that has shone through quickly in his short time here.”
Brisebois came to Charlottetown after three seasons with the Titan in a draft day deal. He was the captain in Bathurst and has held leadership roles on teams throughout his life.
“The C is just a letter,’’ Brisebois said. “I think everyone on this team could have it. Everyone is amazing in this room. It’s just an honour for me to have the C.”
The assistant captains will be Kameron Kielly, Jake Coughler and Will Thompson.
While leadership is key, Hulton said, the letters are an overrated component in today’s game.
“I think we put too much stock in them. In order to have a good team, you need leaders beyond the four guys wearing letters,’’ he said.
And the coach likes what he sees in his club, including league veterans Cody Donghey and Pascal Aquin, as well as guys like Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Mitchell Balmas and Keith Getson.
Filip Chlapik is another guying leading by example this season, Hulton said.
“He’s saying the right things, he’s doing the right things on the ice, off the ice (and) he’s in good shape,’’ he said. “There’s a guy that gets it. (Chlapik understands) I don't have to have a letter to do the right things on a daily basis.”
Brisebois said he is not the kind of guy that screams in the dressing room between periods, but his peers will know he always has their back.
“I’m going to be the quiet guy who is going to be there in the rough moments for the guys and I will always support them,’’ he said.
Leadership group
Here’s what Charlottetown Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said about the team’s assistant captains:
Kameron Kielly
“We know what we’re getting because he was part of the leadership group last year. It’s nice to have continuity. He’s focused on being the best hockey player he can be and that’s allowing him to be a great leader.”
Jake Coughler
“Almost immediately, (from) the minute we acquired him, he started to exude leadership qualities and it didn't take him long to kind of integrate himself into our core leadership group last year, so it was a natural carryover into the new season.”
Will Thompson
“Will Thompson is just a steady personality. He doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low, doesn’t ride the wave of emotion . . . He’s a quiet guy that doesn't waste words, but shows up, punches the clock and works hard everyday.”
Previous Captains
2015-16 – Quinn O’Brien and Oliver Cooper
2014-15 – Ryan MacKinnon
2013-14 – Jack Nevins
2012-13 – Josh Currie
2011-12 – Matthew Hobbs, Josh Currie
2010-11 – Travis McIsaac
2009-10 – Jean-Philippe Mathieu
2008-09 – Matthew Lachaine, Maxime Provencher and Joel Champagne
2007-08 – Pierre-Luc Lessard, Bryan Main, Geoff Walker and Matthew Lachaine
2006-07 -–David Laliberte, Marc-André Gragnani
2005-06 – David Laliberte
2004-05 – Maxim Lapierre
2003-04 – Pierre-André Bureau
2002-03 – Pierre-André Bureau
Source – Wikipedia
