CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Forward Josh Currie was named the 19th captain in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team history, it was announced on Friday.
Currie, 28, is in his first year in the Penguins organization after signing an NHL contract with Pittsburgh on the opening day of free agency. He spent the last six years in the Oilers organization, serving as alternate captain for the AHL's Bakersfield Condors in the last two. Before turning pro, he was the captain of the P.E.I Rocket for two years in the QMJHL.
This will be the first time Currie gets the "C" in his professional career.
"It's an honor," he said after Wilkes-Barre's practice on Friday. "It's a tremendous honor to be named captain, especially with such a good organization like Wilkes-Barre, with such a great history. You know, I'm just very grateful. It's something I'm not going to take for granted. I'm going to do my best to represent this team the best I can on and off the ice. For me, it was just a tremendous honor. I'm just excited and looking forward to the opportunity of being the captain."
I asked head coach J.D. Forrest how he came to the decision on Currie as the captain.
"He's just shown from his attitude, his work ethic in games and on a day-to-day basis the qualities that we were looking for to lead this team through the season," he said. "He's never stopped working since he put his foot through the door here, since I've seen him in Pittsburgh. He's had a great attitude the whole time. He's been flexible with all the different COVID protocol stuff that we've had to deal with, and he's someone that's enthusiastic about coming to the rink and a real good role model for our younger guys."
Wilkes-Barre has a strong group of veterans and other experienced players this season, and there were a number of candidates for the captaincy. Forward Jordan Nolan was the captain of the San Antonio Rampage last season. Forwards Tim Schaller and Nick Schilkey were captains of their college teams. Forward Zach Nastasiuk was captain of his OHL team. Kevin Czuczman is currently on Pittsburgh's taxi squad, but he figures to return to Wilkes-Barre at some point, where he's been an alternate captain for the last three years. Zach Trotman hasn't worn a letter professionally, but has been a leader on Wilkes-Barre's blue line for the last three years as well.
"We do have some really good options as far as leaders go," Forrest said of the group. "I think it'll be nice to have the other guys who possibly could have been captain as the assistant captains throughout the season. ... I'm sure those guys will step up as well. ... There's going to be a lot of up-and-down here probably with the taxi squad and Pittsburgh. There may be times where maybe (Currie) is not here, maybe he does go up to Pittsburgh at times and someone else assumes that role as the head leader in the locker room."
Forrest described Currie on the ice as a skilled, 'relentless' player who never stops working and never gives up on a play. Through the two preseason games, Forrest also saw that Currie was also a good communicator on the bench and is positive in his talks with the younger players. Currie said that he's "not the most vocal guy," as a leader. He tries to lead by example, but also isn't afraid to speak up when necessary.
Currie aims to be a well-rounded, hard-working player on the ice, setting a good example to follow.
"I pride myself in a full 200-foot game," he said. "I try to contribute in both ends, in the offensive and defensive zones. I like to work hard. My work-ethic is kind of what's gotten me where I am today. And I enjoy being on the power play, like most players do. That's definitely one of my favorite areas. I'm just going to be a hard-working player day-in and day-out, and I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team win, whether that's in faceoffs, penalty kill, PP, I'm just willing to do whatever it takes and lead by my work ethic."
That work ethic that Currie plays with is in line with what he expects the team identity to be this year.
"It's going to be a hard-working, fast team," he said. "We're going to play North-South, we're going to be in your face, and I think we're not going to take a night off. We have a lot of guys that are going to work, with some skill. ... We're going to be relentless, and I think we're going to be a fun team to watch. So I'm really looking forward to it and I'm excited."
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON CAPTAINCY HISTORY
• John Slaney, Stephen Leach & Tyler Wright, 1999–2000
• Sven Butenschon & John Slaney, 2000–2001
• Jason MacDonald, 2001–2002
• Tom Kostopoulos, 2002–2003
• Patrick Boileau, Kris Beech & Tom Kostopoulos, 2003–2004
• Rob Scuderi, 2004–2005
• Alain Nasreddine, 2004–2006
• Micki DuPont, 2006–2007
• Nathan Smith, 2007–2008
• David Gove, 2008–2009
• Wyatt Smith, 2009–2010
• Ryan Craig, 2010–2012
• Joey Mormina, 2012–2013
• Tom Kostopoulos, 2013–2018
• Garrett Wilson, 2018-19
• David Warsofsky, 2019-2020
• Josh Currie, 2021-