Vancouver Canucks name Quinn Hughes 15th captain in franchise history

As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have named defenceman Quinn Hughes the 15th captain in franchise history.

What we didn’t expect was for them to do it at 8:16 on a Monday morning. But that’s what the club did this morning.

“It means a great deal to me to be named captain of the Canucks,” Hughes said, per the team’s official release. “When I came here 5 years ago, I knew what I was walking in to having grown up in Toronto; just a crazy hockey market and a passionate fan base. It has been a pleasure and treat to play for this franchise and to be the captain is something that is incredibly special and something that I couldn’t ever imagine would happen.”

Hughes, who turns 24 in October, succeeds Bo Horvat as the 15th captain in Canucks franchise history.

“Quinn is such a competitor, workhorse and off-season rink rat,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “There are lot of ways to lead, and Quinn does it by example and by always giving his teammates, coaches and organization the upmost respect. When he does address the locker room it is very powerful and his growth and maturation in just the short time I have been here is very impressive. Quinn isn’t afraid to get uncomfortable and voice his thoughts during both good and bad times which says a lot about his character and desire to win.”

The Canucks chose to name Hughes captain ahead of training camp in Victoria next week, as opposed to a ceremony on opening night as they’ve done in the past.

“I had great mentors in Tanev, Luke Schenn and Markstrom, and currently I am still learning from Millsey and Myesy.” Hughes said. “Even guys who are around my age – Brock, Elias and Demko – I am always learning from those guys and taking things from what they do to try and incorporate that into how I lead, and hopefully I do the same for them. We just have to keep pushing each other. Everyone has something to prove this year, we just have to remember that fact through training camp to stay hungry and we need to be ready to go.”

Patrik Allvin, Rick Tocchet, and Quinn Hughes will be made available to media later today and we’ll have full coverage from that press conference. The Canucks also plan to live stream the press conference on their Twitter page, which you can access by clicking here.