New Captains of the West

Erie, Flint, Guelph, Saginaw & Sarnia have each named a new captain to lead their teams this season, with the departure of last year's overage players. Each captain fills a different role on their respective team, but all have earned the responsibility of leading their team on-and-off the ice.

Spencer Sova has been on many draft boards for the past two NHL Drafts, but no team has taken a chance on him yet. 

The offensive catalyst on the blueline is named captain of the Otters, as they look to begin turning the tides. Erie hasn’t had much success over the past couple seasons, but high draft picks should begin to pay off this season. 

Sova leads the defensive core with his dominant offensive and transition game, while also eating lots of minutes each game.

The undrafted & unsigned forward heads into his 4th season with the Firebirds where he looks to build off of a successful season individually. 

Flint is off to a rather disappointing start this season — sitting at 9th in the Conference — but with the recent return of Braeden Kressler, there is hope to turn it around. Giroux jumps into this role where he will likely play a lot of minutes on the top line, as their depth is rather bleak compared to last season. 

Giroux has 7 points through 8 games to start the year, as the newly assigned captain has seemingly to boosted his confidence.

Braeden Bowman becomes the 32nd captain in Guelph Storm history. 

Bowman had a breakout year last season — scoring over a point per game — and is on a similar pace so far this season. 

Guelph is without offensive star Matthew Poitras for at least the first part of the season, as he made the Boston Bruins starting roster. In return, Bowman has been forced to step up as the new captain. His fiery, energy-oriented game has been a constant motivator for the Storm thus far.  

Big, physical defender Braden Hache will wear the ‘C’ for the Saginaw Spirit this season. The Florida Panthers prospect heads into his final OHL season. 

Hache was acquired via trade last season by the Barrie Colts, after beginning his OHL career with the Kingston Frontenacs. 

Hache captains the Spirit, who are the hosts of the Memorial Cup this season. They are not off to a great start this season, but there is hope that a few acquisitions will be made before the trade deadline. 

Cooper Way — the reliable, two way centre — will captain the Sarnia Sting this season. 

The Sting are in rebuild-mode, and this was confirmed after they moved Ben Gaudreau to Erie.

This will be Way’s first full season with Sarnia, as he was acquired from the Oshawa Generals early on last season. Way plays a consistent middle six role with more skilled offensive players surrounding him. He has been playing a veteran role in the lineup, playing alongside rookie Ryan Brown for a lot of games thus far. 

Way won't fill up the scoresheet, but he will lead by example with his responsibility and two-way game.