The First Hurricanes Captain

Back when Jordan first started Canes This Week, I had a themed idea for the blog entitled "The Captains."

Every few weeks, I would check in with one of the many Lethbridge Hurricanes players who have worn the 'C' to see where they are now. Everyone from Brent Seabrook and Jamie Pushor to Tyler Wong and Jordy Bellerive.

To be honest, that idea kind of hit the skids right off the bat because I had some questions about who the first captain in team history was.

In going back through past news releases from the Hurricanes, I had seen a few different names listed as the first. Some lists had Kevin Heise as the first in 1987-1988 while others had Peter Berthelson.

So with the recent announcement that forward Dylan Cozens and defenseman Ty Prefontaine would be sharing the duties for the remainder this year, I thought I would reignite my captain idea by first trying to get to the bottom of my little mystery.

In doing trade trees and other historical pieces for the blog, I've become pretty good at sleuthing through the Lethbridge Herald's archives and struck gold pretty early on. As it turns out, the answer to the question of the Hurricanes' first captain might surprise a few.

In the October 5, 1987 edition of the Herald, the answer was found in the article about the club's season opening losses to Prince Albert and Medicine Hat.

A little way down Ron Davitt's article, he writes "Hurricanes captain Terry Black tied the game."

Prior to the team's home opener on October 7, the Herald's Randy Jensen wrote a lengthy piece entitled "Black prepared to lead Hurricanes."

In it, Jensen wrote "Black is one of the most, if not the most, respected players on a young team which is eligible to return 22 out of 25 players next season."

The then 18-year-old had played with the Lethbridge Broncos in 1985-1986 and admitted that he "didn't expect anything like that to happen" in getting the 'C'.

That night, the Hurricanes made their Lethbridge Sportsplex debut. And in his post-game rundown of the 3-2 loss to the Tigers, the Herald's Randy Jensen said the players were introduced individually to the crowd with Black "receiving the loudest applause."

But a change was made in late-January, with an "Ice Chips" quick mention that Heise would take over as captain with Black taking an alternate captain spot with Jim Wheatcroft.

It's not quite clear why the change was made, as I've searched around the archives.

What is clear is that I have finally stopped going down this particular rabbit hole and can now start catching up with some of the captains for the rest of the season.

Hurricanes By The Jersey Numbers

What’s in a number?

Howe and Richard wore #9. Lemieux had #66. Lindros was #88. And of course, #99 was synonymous with Gretzky.

I’m not sure why, but many Western Hockey League teams don’t have a lot of players wearing digits over #35. If they have retired a number or two, they will likely bump it up to #40. But it seems pretty rare to see players donning non-standard numbers.

How about the Lethbridge Hurricanes?

They are definitely in the same boat. The goaltenders typically get #1 or anything in the #30’s, although Logan Koopmans did wear #29 for a season. The skaters get everything else.

But there have been a few exceptions to the rule.

Defenseman Andy Thompson wore #39 for the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons. The tough guy picked up 39 points and 291 penalty minutes in 107 games.

Many Canes This Week listeners will remember Stuart Skinner. I’m not exactly sure why, but the netminder wore #74 in junior. I thought it’d be cool if he kept that number all the way up to pro. Instead, he’s worn #34 in Bakersfield and is listed as #50 with the Edmonton Oilers.

When Chris Phillips landed in Lethbridge after that massivetrade with Prince Albert, he had to change his number. It appears he wore #7 with the Raiders, but when he was moved to Lethbridge, that number was taken by Kirby Law. So just like Paul Coffey when he went to Pittsburgh, Phillips added another 7 and became #77.

And finally, Jeremy Jackson channeled his inner-Connor McDavid in his time with the Hurricanes. Wearing #97, Jackson picked up 150 points in 100 games for the Hurricanes over two seasons.

Interestingly, a couple of other jersey numbers stand out as you go through the all-time list.

Only one player has worn #34 for the Hurricanes and that was Kevin Opsahl. The netminder played in 35 games for the Hurricanes in 2005-2006.

And only one player also suited up with the #13 on the back and arms of the jersey. Ivan Vologzaninov was a pure point-getter for the Hurricanes between 1992 and 1994, picking up 198 points in 136 games. A draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, he went overseas after a couple of seasons in the ECHL.

All this talk about jersey numbers has me wondering a bit: will we ever see a day where oddball numbers become just as frequent in the WHL as they are in the NHL?

For a full rundown of all Lethbridge Hurricanes by jersey number, you can click this link.

The Trades of Ty

When the Lethbridge Hurricanes traveled to Calgary to take on the Hitmen last Friday, defenseman Ty Prefontaine was invited to take the ceremonial faceoff. And it got me to thinking about the young man’s travels, which included a stop at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

His Western Hockey League career actually began with Prince Albert as the Raiders took him in the fifth round, 96^th overall in the 2014 Bantam Draft. I traced it back and that was the Raiders’ actual choice, so no crazy back-story on the pick itself to share.

Prefontaine played three games for the Raiders in 2015-2016 before he was traded to the Hitmen in what was a pretty major deal. Along with the young blueliner, the Hitmen acquired forward Matteo Gennaro and a sixth-round pick in the 2016 draft for forward Layne Bensmiller and defenseman Loch Morrison.

WHL TRADE DEADLINE: @WHLHitmen trade F Layne Bensmiller, D Loch Morrison to @PARaidersHockey for Matteo Gennaro, Ty Prefontaine & pick

— HockeyNow (@HockeyNow) January 10, 2016

Gennaro would later end up being involved in a blockbuster with Swift Current during his 20-year-old season as the Broncos loaded up for a Memorial Cup run, one many in Lethbridge will remember as they also acquired Stuart Skinner, Giorgio Estephan and others that year.

The Hitmen used that sixth-round pick to take defenseman Jackson Rider, who is playing in Sylvan Lake this year.

Bensmiller would later move onto the Seattle Thunderbirds, where he played seven games and was last listed in Blackfalds.

Morrison was eventually traded to Victoria along with a fourth-round pick in 2017 for Brayden Pachal and a sixth-round pick in 2017.

The fourth-rounder was used by the Royals to take Alex Bolshakov, who has played in 19 games for the club this season, while the sixth-rounder was used by the Raiders to take forward Hunter Strand, who has committed to the NCAA.

That wraps up the first trade involving Ty Prefontaine, so let’s move onto the second trade.

TRADE: @WHLHitmen send Ty Prefontaine to @WHLHurricanes.

DETAILS 📰 | https://t.co/TqUn63bUHZ pic.twitter.com/qBAlZQCEVe

— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 28, 2016

The Hitmen sent him to Lethbridge in October 2016 for a seventh-round pick in the 2017 Bantam Draft. Calgary used that pick to select forward Riley Fiddler-Schultz, who has nine points in 21 games for the Hitmen this season.

Prefontaine has been a worthy addition to the ‘Canes, picking up 54 points in 223 games and has been applauded for his defensive contributions, including making it to the third pairing of my “All-2010’s Team” last week.

Oh, and by the way, a happy belated 21^st birthday to Ty as well! His birthday was on Monday.

Lethbridge Hurricanes All-2010's Team

The 2010’s will be remembered for the rollercoaster of emotions the Lethbridge Hurricanes sent their fans on.

From the unbelievable low of a 12-win season in 2013-2014 with players wanting out of town and all kinds of questions about the future of the franchise in Lethbridge to two-straight appearances in the conference final in 2017 and 2018 and finally some stability.

The last ten years have also featured plenty of memorable moments and players. With the end of the decade now in the rearview mirror, we thought it would be fun to put together an “All-2010’s Team”.

I didn’t have any specific criteria on selecting the team, aside from on-ice accomplishments with the Hurricanes and not necessarily in terms of longevity either, as some memorable seasons will always stick out as well.

So here we go:

Goaltenders

Starter - Stuart Skinner
This might be one of the biggest “no-brainers” on this list. Skinner played in four games for the ‘Canes in that dreadful 2013-2014 campaign and could have easily joined others in tapping out. The first-round bantam draft pick instead put the team on his back, winning a total of 88 games over the next four seasons. While he didn’t pick up any major WHL awards in his time, he has to be considered as one of the best and most consistent while he was with the Hurricanes.

Back-up – Ty Rimmer
There was a boatload of goaltenders that made their way through Lethbridge, especially in the early 2010’s. Rimmer’s 2012-2013 season featured 2,106 reasons to get this spot, representing the number of saves he had to make.

Defensemen

Top Pairing – Calen Addison and Andrew Nielson
Can you imagine if these two offensive dynamos played together? Well, they did…kind of. During Nielson’s 70-point season in 2015-2016, Addison made his debut as a 15-year-old. Now if only Nielson had stuck around for an extra couple of seasons versus going pro. Not only was Nielson great on the ice but he was also a solid contributor off the ice, winning the team’s Community Relations Award once. As for Addison, his accolades speak for themselves. He’s coming off two-straight 65-point seasons and was nearly at a point-a-game before taking off for the World Juniors as the first Hurricanes defenseman to go to the tournament since Luca Sbisa. The two play different kinds of games, which would make the pairing fun to watch.

Second Pairing – Igor Merezhko and Brennan Menell
These two might have been polar-opposite in terms of their contributions but would also be a solid pairing. Merezhko was the definition of consistency in his four seasons, while Menell was phenomenal in his one year with the Hurricanes, picking up 71 points in 70 games and was a playoff performer as well with 17 points in 20 games.

Third Pairing – Daniel Johnston and Ty Prefontaine
It’s not easy playing against the best offensive players in the game but how could you not want these two players doing it night in and night out? Neither were offensive dynamos but both were tough as nails and able to battle with the biggest and most-talented in their respective seasons.

Forwards

1^st Line – Tyler Wong / Giorgio Estephan / Dylan Cozens
We have no doubt in our minds that Wong would be wearing the ‘C’ for this team. What didn’t he do during his time in Lethbridge? He scored some of the team’s biggest goals, played in the biggest moments and was the biggest contributor off the ice. Estephan’s abilities might have been overshadowed from time-to-time with Wong in the picture but he was a point-a-game player and, like Skinner, could have easily walked on this team during the bad years as well. Cozens has been a game-changer since he first stepped foot on Enmax Centre ice and is getting his dues by being a first round NHL pick and representing Canada with Addison at the World Juniors

2^nd Line – Jordy Bellerive / Cam Braes / Jamal Watson
The motor on this line would never stop and it would also have some great offensive pop to go along with it. Bellerive was a model of consistency, earning a contract with Pittsburgh. Braes was among the team’s top scorers in the early part of the decade while Watson did everything for the team during its down years. This line would have generated a lot of scoring opportunities just based on work ethic, let alone the skill they all have.

3^rd Line – Russell Maxwell / Brayden Burke / Jake Elmer
Maxwell was the offensive spark on the team during the Watson years and while his numbers weren’t gaudy, they were still solid. On the flipside, Burke’s 2015-2016 season was one of the best offensively the Hurricanes have seen in a long while (109 points). And Elmer was a fan favourite and a great community guy, putting up some great numbers in 2018-2019 to earn a contract with the New York Rangers. This could have been a really interesting line to watch.

4^th Line – Egor Babenko / Brady Ramsay / Brody Sutter
The Hurricanes couldn’t have asked for more from Babenko in his two years more than 20 goals and 55 points in each season and showed up in the playoffs as well. Ramsay picked up 41 or 42 points in three-straight seasons and picked up his share of penalty minutes. And the Sutter name brings a certain type of player to mind and Brody was that player, grinding his way to being picked by Carolina in the 7^th round of the 2011 NHL Draft.

And I have no doubt in my mind the coach of this team would be the man behind the latest stretch of teams: Brent Kisio.

What do you think? Did we miss anything glaring? Drop us a line on social media.