By / Darren Steinke
In a quick survey of veteran players before the season began, it became apparent that Brennan Bosch would be the captain of the Medicine Hat Tigers for the 2008/09 campaign.
This 20-year-old centre’s name was the first to roll off the lips of fellow overage centre Sean Ringrose, 19-year-old left-winger Colton Grant and 18-year-old centre Wacey Hamilton regarding the club’s potential leader. Through the Tigers first 15 games with Bosch as captain, the team has rolled off a 7-4-2-2 mark.
Bosch was last a captain way back as a 16-year-old forward with the Saskatchewan-based Beardy’s Blackhawks Midget AAA program in 2004/05. He said that experience helped from the fact he learned how to ensure his teammates were ready for games. That said, this Martensville, Sask.-product noted there are differences between being a WHL team captain and a midget AAA captain.
“It is just a little different here with older guys and a bigger difference in age group,” said Bosch. “When you get older, you have a lot more to worry about.”
The four-year veteran centre added the focuses of players in their rookie years are different than those who have been in the league as long as he has.
“You are not just kind of worrying about being in the lineup and playing,” said Bosch, who has five goals and eight assist so far this season. “You worry more about the team and how the team is doing than kind of yourself.”
Tigers associate coach Shaun Clouston said the club’s coaching staff thought Bosch had the potential to be a captain, when he first arrived with the team.
“We knew that he had qualities, attributes, characteristics that you see in effective leaders,” said Clouston. “He has a good work ethic.
“He leads by example. He is committed and dedicated to making himself better. On the ice, he is responsible in a lot of areas, where you need to be responsible.”
Bosch would also love to add to his legacy with the team by leading the Tigers to a Memorial Cup championship finish. He is already cemented in team lore for scoring the double overtime winning goal in Game 7 of the 2007 WHL championship series against the Vancouver Giants.
That goal will always be the moment Bosch is remembered for as a Tiger, but he would love nothing better to add the accolade of captaining a Memorial Cup championship team.
“Coming into my last season, that is what I want,” said Bosch. “Being the leader on the team and being an older guy, I think it is all that more special too, if you can take a team all the way.
“You have a lot of ownership into it, and a lot of hard effort put into it, and you have a lot of say in the team.” |
