Horcoff, Thornton Named Team Captains

  Two veteran centers, Joe Thornton and Shawn Horcoff, were named captains of their respective clubs on Wednesday and Thursday.

  On Wednesday, Shawn Horcoff became the 13th captain of the Edmonton Oilers since the team’s inception in 1979. He proceeds long-time Oiler captain Eathan Moreau who has now signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"It's a big honor," Horcoff said after the announcement. "I think it's something that's the pinnacle of every player in the NHL. It doesn't get any better than this. I want to be a guy that leads both on and off the ice and is very approachable," he explained. "I think that's the biggest thing, that you have to be a captain that guys can come to when they need help, for various reasons, and they look to him at the toughest times to help them through that, especially as a team."

  Horcoff, 32, is heading into his 10th season in the National Hockey League for the Edmonton Oilers, the team he has spent his entire career with. He was drafted in the 4th round (99th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to his draft day, he spent four years with Michigan State and won the CCHA player of the Year Award, as well as being a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. The 6’1”, 208 pound native of Trail, British Columbia has scored 133 goals and 241 assists for 374 points and 417 penalty minutes in his 637 games with the Oilers. He is the team's longest-serving player with 637 games played in Edmonton.

"I've been an Oiler all my life," Horcoff said Wednesday at Rexall Place. "I put a lot of hard work and a lot of effort into becoming the best pro and Oiler I could be.” He went on, "I look forward to doing that for many more years and trying to help our young guys to that, also."

  In 2009-10 Horcoff tallied only 13 goals for 36 points in 77 games, and finished in a two-way tie with Carolina’s Rod Brindamour for second worst plus/minus, only bettering (former) teammate Patrick O’Sullivan with a -29 rating. Horcoff’s play has slumped over the past few years, but to be fair, the entire Oilers’ organization has been on the down turn as they finished dead last  in nearly every category last season. The absence of winger Ales Hemsky has done anything but help Horcoff, as seemingly the only player on the team to find success was right winger Dustin Penner.

  Horcoff looks ahead to this season as a year to rebuild himself as a player, while his organizations plans to restructure, and turn the historic franchise back around into winning form. Horcoff will benefit largely from a healthy Hemsky, and a large cast of young and aspiring players returning, and joining the Oilers for his season.

  To this point the Oilers have played in one regular season game. It was the first time Horcoff dawned the “C” in regular season play, and the captaincy and energetic youth seems to have the veteran on the right track early. Horcoff appeared on the top line with 1st over draft pick of 2010, Taylor Hall, and 2008 1st round (22nd overall) draft pick, Jordan Eberle. The three combined for 9 shots, two goals (Eberle, Horcoff), two assists, and a +2 as they routed the Calgary Flames 4-0 in the first game of the year. This is a much different looking Oilers club now, and Horcoff looks to lead the way as team captain for many years to come.

  GM Steve Tambellini met with Horcoff, convincing him that he was the right man for the job in Oil Country.

"He's capable, he's an intelligent guy, he cares about the Oilers a great deal," Tambellini said. "I think he presents a good example of a pro package for what our young people need to see."

  Just the next day, the San Jose Sharks finally made the decision to name veteran “Jumbo Joe” Joe Thornton team captain after veteran defenseman Rob Blake announced his retirement in the off-season. The announcement was made Thursday after team practice by head coach Todd McLellan.

“Joe Thornton will be our captain and Dan Boyle will be a permanent assistant,” said McLellan. “Patrick Marleau and Ryane Clowe will alternate road and home (Marleau home, Clowe road). We had a really good assortment of choices and it basically came down to two players. We, and when I say we it is spread out through the organization, including management and the players, felt right now Jumbo would be the right guy at this time. He’s made some really big strides over the last couple of years, changed the way he approached and played the game. We believe this is the next step in that evolution.”

  There were really fiveplayers being looked at for captaincy in Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Dan Boyle, Ryan Clowe, and Joe Thornton. The arrival of the decision to name Joe Thornton is probably the best one as Marleau has been down that road, and has shown a much better performance on the ice without that letter on his jersey.

  Thornton is a consummate team leader both on and off the ice. His consistent and productive play is among the best in the NHL over his 12 seasons of play. Thornton was the 1st overall draft pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. Joe spent seven and a half years with Boston before his trade to San Jose, and heads into his 6th year with the Sharks.

“I want to be captain, I feel like I am the captain of this team,” said Thornton. “The players voted and management and everybody had a say and they chose me. I think I’m ready for it. There are only 30 in the league, so it is a huge honor.”

  In 2009-10, Thornton finished 8th in the league in points, 2nd in assists, 33rd among forwards in average time on ice, and 12th in powerplay points. His totals for last season include 20 goals and 69 assists for 89 points with a +17 rating and 54 penalty minutes. In the post season he went 3-9-12 in 15 games with a -11 rating as he matched up against the other teams’ top scorers. Also in 2009-10, he paired up with his regular season linemates, Patrick Marleau and Danny Heatley, to win the gold medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics for Team Canada where he notched a goal and an assist in seven games.

  Thornton has solidified himself as one of the NHL’s elites down the middle. With his large frame he can power to the net to drive home goals, play a defensive forechecking game, is greatg on the draw, and is one of the best (if not  the best) passers in the league. He has led his Sharks’ team in points every year since 2006-07, and the year before that he finished 2nd on the team just one point behind Jonathan Cheechoo.

  At just 31 years old Thornton ranks 58th on the NHL's all-time assist list (646), 87th on the all-time points list (931) and amongst players that started the season 31-years-old or younger, he has the most points (931).

  He has accumulated the most points since the 2002-03 season (684), has the second most points in the NHL since his debut in 1997 (931) and has the third most points in the NHL since appearing in his first game with San Jose on Dec. 2, 2005.

  Thornton’s streak of seven consecutive 20 goal and 50 assist seasons are the longest for any player since Steve Yzerman and Doug Gilmour posted eight consecutive from 1986-87 to 1993-94. His 10 consecutive seasons of 20+ goals is the second longest active streak in the League next to Jarome Iginla's 11.

  Thornton, 31, becomes the eighth full-time captain in the history of the Sharks, but captaincy isn’t new to the 6’4 235lbs. London, Ontario native. He was once captain of the Boston Bruins before being dealt to the Sharks in 2005-06. The same questions have come to the table in terms of Joe’s ability to win in the post season, as many speculated he would be traded ahead of this season. GM Doug Wilson denies this idea, stating that a contract negotian is still in progress. Until that deal is made, however, the question still looms. The Sharks are expected to go much further than the Western Conference Finals this year; they’re expected to win.

- Kendall Grubbs