The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
the end, he earned that opportunity. He's been the hardest worker here for two and a half years, and he had nothing to show for it." In that meeting, the captains served one of their purposes, as a conduit between the team and the coaching staff. They have served other, more important roles this season, providing critical leadership on and off the ice, while performing at the highest level every game. Their presence this year does not solely explain the Maize and Blue's 10-2-2 start, but they have made a tremendous impact thus far. "In sports like baseball and basketball for instance, there is not the emphasis on captains, but many consider hockey to be the ultimate team sport and so the leadership aspect of it is fundamental to a team's success," said Adam Proteau, a columnist for The Hockey News. "On any given night, you need 19 guys to all play with the same level of passion, commitment and chemistry, and if you can have one guy, or two guys, or three guys that wear a letter on their jersey and can consistently inspire the team to do that, you have a great captain." A year ago, with four first-time captains, including Bennett serving in the role of alternate, U-M struggled terribly, entering its holiday break 6-9-2 en route to a 13-18-3 regular season. The captains seemed overwhelmed and didn't know how to lead a dysfunctional lot that divided a locker room into unhealthy cliques. The leaders would assert themselves late, and the Wolverines would achieve cohesion, going 8-1-1 in their final 10 games, but it was too little too late. "One of the things we learned from last year is when we started seeing success it was because we finally had that bond as a team," said Bennett, who wears the 'C' now. "When I was named captain, I knew the success or failure of the team was dependent on whether we liked each other and would be willing to play for each other." "Right from the start of spring term, when we heard who the captains would be, we said we have to work towards a common goal, get off to a good start and get everyone on board," DeBlois added. It has helped immensely, the three captains have noted, that they had a receptive audience to lead this season. "Having a leadership corps that all does the right things and says the right things, and acts the right way, definitely rubs on off on guys, but at the same time, if the guys aren't following or playing the way the coaches tell us we need to play, it doesn't matter," Copp said. "The biggest difference from last year to this year is the other 25 guys in the locker room are following our lead better. "They want to be friends. They want to play the game hard on both ends of the rink. They want to be good teammates and they want to win games." Hall of Famer Mark Messier is considered, perhaps, the greatest captain in NHL history, leading the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rang-