Brett Budgell seemed destined to wear the captain’s C since the early days of his tenure with the Charlottetown Islanders.
It became official Thursday morning when head coach Jim Hulton revealed the results of a players’ vote at the end of practice.
“It’s always something special when you’re named captain by your peers,” Budgell said moments later. “We have a great group of guys here as leaders. Not only guys wearing letters, but I think there’s a lot of leaders in that room.”
Budgell, a 19-year-old centre from Paradise, N.L., was the Isles’ top pick, 25th overall, at the 2017 draft. A first-round talent, he slid to Charlottetown because he was exploring his options south of the border.
He attended training camp in August but left early in order to retain his NCAA eligibility.
A few months later, Hulton was having supper with his sons Lucas and Jimmy at Hunter’s Ale House when his phone rang.
It was Budgell.
He wanted to be an Islander.
“It was just after Christmas and you don’t think you’re going to get any more gifts on Dec. 27, but we got a pretty big one that day,” Hulton said. “He paid dividends right off the hop when he came in and continues to do so.”
The brass made an informed decision early. They had him travel to the rink each day with captain Pierre-Olivier (P.O.) Joseph.
Both love hockey and are caring young men.
“I remember early on in his tenure here, P.O. and (Keith) Getson commenting that this guy is going to be your captain someday. I guess that prediction has come to fruition now,” Hulton said Thursday. “This is something that internally we figured was going to happen. He fits the mold of what we’re looking for both on and off the ice and we’re thrilled the players agreed.”
Similar story
A similar story played out a few years earlier when Oliver Cooper told Hulton that Joseph was the captain-in-waiting.
“I think when you have true leaders, you recognize the traits right away, no matter how old they are,” Hulton said.
Budgell said he’s been fortunate to have great leaders to look up in Charlottetown. It included Joseph, Getson and Pascal Aquin in his rookie year while Brendon Clavelle wore the C a year ago.
The importance of the time with Joseph isn’t lost on Budgell.
“I think it was crucial to my development,” he said. “I was around PO a lot. He was my ride to the rink. I learned a lot from that guy every day. He was such a great leader, on and off the ice.”
Joseph said Budgell’s passion for the game was evident early and people gravitate towards guys like him.
“He’s one guy you want to be around to get better and improve,” he said.
Leadership comes in many forms, but one nugget Joseph shared is doing simple things like ensuring all players are part of whatever the group is doing on, or off, the ice.
Joseph said he and Budgell continue to communicate, including a text he sent him Thursday after hearing the news.
“I didn't have to tell him a lot. I just sent him a heart emoji and he knew exactly what I meant,” he said. “I know people think he’s only 19, but I know he has a soul of someone who is 60 years old, so he’s going to be a great leader.”
Budgell played a crucial role as the Islanders went from underdogs to a win away from the league final in 2018. The expectations were high for him in his sophomore year, but a slow start hurt. He wasn’t selected at the NHL draft but came back and used it as motivation to continue to get better.
“I think everybody faces adversity in different forms,” Budgell said, noting some players are dealing with things on and off the ice. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on and you might not even know about it.”
The budding power forward had 24 goals and 25 assists in 64 games last season while being a responsible, two-way centre.
“When you think of leadership, you think of words like character, determination and resilience and he displayed all of that,” Hulton said.
