New York Islanders confer captaincy on defenseman Mark Streit before season opener -NHL Update
New York Islanders were one of the few teams entering the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) training camp without a proper captain but managed to get rid of that issue by conferring the captaincy on veteran defenseman, Mark Streit, on Wednesday, September
21.
The announcement about Streit being New York’s 13th captain in history was made during a press conference, in which Islanders team owner, Charles Wang, and general manager, Garth Snow, took part at the Nassau Coliseum.
Without a doubt, Streit was surprised by the decision and certainly thrilled that he will finally be having that “C” sewn onto his jersey, saying that he will do everything in his power to take the team to the next level.
"I am blessed and honored, and I'll do everything possible to win the games", Streit said. "I was hoping to be captain because I thought I could do a good job, but I didn't expect it. I had a rough year. It was tough to watch, but during the year you realized
how good this team is. There is so many great players. I feel we have a wonderful mix of players. There's young, skilled players with a lot of talent and there is some veteran guys. We have a great chemistry".
Streit was informed about the news, Wednesday after practice when former player and now team assistant coach and senior adviser to the GM, Doug Weight, who is also the ex-captain.
Drafted as the 262nd overall pick during round-nine of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by Montreal Canadiens, Streit was one of those players that received international recognition going into his veteran stages.
He played three seasons with Montreal and showed top-notch performance but signed on to New York after becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2008.
The 2009-2010 season was his last as Mark Streit missed the previous one due to a serious shoulder injury during scrimmage in the training camp last September.
Now hoping to avoid all possible career halting injuries, Streit has been given an immense amount of responsibility, which could either make it or break it for him.
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