Pats name captains for centennial season

He led the WHL leader board and now he’s the leader of the Regina Pats.

Sam Steel has been named captain of the Regina Pats for their historic 100^th season and the year they host the Memorial Cup.

“It’s a huge honour to be named captain, especially on a year like this,” Steel said. “It’s pretty special and something I don’t take lightly.”

Joining Steel will be three alternate captains including defenceman Josh Mahura, fellow centre Jake Leschyshyn and 20-year-old newcomer Matt Bradley.

Here are your 2017 Pats Captains. Sam Steel wears the C. pic.twitter.com/k59HyrE1iC

— Arielle Zerr (@arielle_zerr) August 30, 2017

“They’re all great players, they all have great preparation and they’re players that are going to be counted on and now they’re counted on in a more important way,” Paddock said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Paddock said he is not the type of coach to allow the players to pick their captains because he feels they play a very specific role with the team.

“They’re an extension of the coaching staff, so they will and are expected to carry across whatever our message is at different times,” he explained.

And Steel says he’s ready to do just that, though admits he’s more of a lead by example type.

“I think play on the ice is really important but also you need to step up when the time is right in the locker room,” Steel said.

Steel’s strong play on the ice is something that the team depends on, and Paddock said his dedication is one of his top qualities. Not coincidentally dedication is one of the qualities Paddock looked for when he named his leadership group.

“Be willing to do what it takes to win a game, whether it’s block a shot, win a face off, whether it’s speak to somebody on the team, whether it’s come to us with different things, like I said, they’re an extension of the coaching staff.”

The Pats first preseason game is Friday night at 7 p.m. At the Brandt Centre.

They kick off their regular season on the road against Brandon on Sept. 22.

Single game tickets go on sale Sept. 5.