Next year's Cleveland Monsters should look a bit different from how they have over the last few seasons. This will be part one of looking at who the next Captain will be in Cleveland. 

Their Captain, Stefan Matteau, announced his retirement about a month ago after playing 13 pro seasons. The Monsters have 12 total free agents, including their entire leadership team from the 24-25 season. That group consisted of Matteau and assistant captains Cole Clayton, Trey Fix-Wolansky, and Owen Sillinger.  

So, not only will they have a much different team, they could be very young and will have to choose a new leadership group. 

So who will be the next captain? 

The problem with predicting the captain is that no one knows who will be back and who won't be. But, the Monsters have a pair of RFAs that very well could be re-signed - Hunter McKown and Cole Clayton. Of those two, there could only be one choice - Cole Clayton. 

Cole Clayton is an undrafted free agent out of Strathmore, Alberta, Canada. The sturdy defenseman has yet to play an NHL game at 25 year's old, but he has been a steady player for the Monsters for four seasons now. 

Clayton has played 224 games for Cleveland over the past four seasons. He's scored 12 goals and totaled 61 points on the Monsters blueline while tacking on 141 PIMs. Over the past two seasons, he's also played in 14 Calder Cup Playoff games. 

So why Cole Clayton? Clayton is also a fan favorite who knows how to get the crowd at the Rock pumped up, and he's a decent player to boot. 

Clayton has been around the franchise for a few years now as well, so he knows Cleveland. 

So why not Cole Clayton? Clayton is a restricted free agent who is arbitration-eligible, so while there is a chance he goes back to Cleveland, it's no guarantee. Should he not be brought back, the Monsters' next captain may come from outside the organization. 

Cleveland Monsters fans love their team and the players, and Cole Clayton would be a great choice to wear the "C". 

Let us know below who you think the next Captain should be. 

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