Brody Silk and Nick Baptiste have been named co-captains for the Sudbury Wolves.
Silk and Baptiste will lead The Pack in their 43rd season in the OHL. They assume the duties from Kevin Raine, who led the Wolves last season.
Silk, 19, was selected in the second round of the 2010 OHL Priority Selection by the Sudbury Wolves. The Iroquois Falls native is looking to conclude his final season in the OHL by leading the Sudbury Wolves to the post-season for the seventh consecutive season.
Silk missed the majority of last season after requiring surgery on his injured shoulder. The 6-foot, 200-lb forward is expected to centre the No. 1 line on the Wolves' roster this season. After an injury-riddled OHL career to date, Silk is counting on a big offensive season for himself and the team.
Baptiste, 19, returns for his fourth and final season in the OHL as the team's leading scorer. The Buffalo Sabres' signed forward was the Wolves' first-round selection in 2011 and the Ottawa native has become one of the premiere forwards in the OHL.
Last season, Baptiste led the Wolves in goals with 45 and points with 89. He also led the Wolves in scoring in the post-season with five points in five playoff games. Baptiste is expected to miss the next three weeks of action as he recovers from an injury he sustained in pre-season action.
"The Sudbury Wolves are blessed to have the experience and leadership capabilities of two outstanding individuals in Brody Silk and Nick Baptiste," said Wolves' head coach Paul Fixter. "We felt that it was important that we award the captaincy to both of these players as they will have the challenging task of leading a very young and up-and-coming team.
“Nick will miss a number of games at the start of the season due to injury and we expect that he will miss a number of games during the Christmas period as he has an excellent chance of playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.
“With Brody, we have a natural leader and a player that is mentally and physically prepared for his most successful season in the OHL. Brody has missed a lot of games over his OHL career, and we are hopeful that he will stay healthy and provide us with the offence and leadership that we know he is capable of bringing to our team. I know both of these young men are leaders in their own right and we are very proud and honoured to name them as our team captains."
Fixter also announced that 20-year-old veterans Jeff Corbett and Nathan Pancel are the team's alternate captains this season. Both Corbett and Pancel are entering their fourth and final season with the Sudbury Wolves. Corbett is widely recognized as one of the best two-way defencemen in the OHL, and Pancel is a natural goal-scorer having scored a career-high 43 Goals last season.
Both players are expecting to have solid seasons and will join Silk and Baptiste as veteran leaders on the Wolves' team.
Silk will captain the Sudbury Wolves in the Wolves' season opener on home ice on Frida, Sept. 26 when the Wolves host the NIAGARA ICEDOGS. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
There are plenty of great seats available for Friday night's game. Call the Sudbury Arena ticket office at 705-671-3000 during regular business hours to purchase seats by credit card.
The Sudbury Wolves made one additional roster announcement today as overage forward Ray Huether returned home to await reassignment.
The Wolves roster now stands at 24 players. Baptiste will remain on the sidelines with an upper body injury.
