Sept. 21, 2015
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Building off its most successful season to date, Penn State men's ice hockey will look towards new captains to lead squad into the 2015-16 campaign.
Senior David Glen received the nod at captain for the season, while senior Luke Juha and junior David Thompson will serve the Nittany Lions as alternate captains.
After being voted the third captain in program history, Glen felt honored to be included in a small group of highly regarded players.
"For me it was always an honor to be named captain," said Glen. "It shows a lot of I guess what your teammates feel about you. Hopefully you did a good job over the past few years and are deserving of it and I think [Juha and Thompson] as much so. We're just honored and really proud to be picked."
The Alberta native, who has served as an alternate captain the past two years, will be taking on a greater leadership role this campaign. Juha and Thompson, new to the alternate captain roles, have quickly embraced their new duties.
"One of the biggest things for us is NCAA rules don't really allow coaches to practice with us right now," said Juha. "So one of our biggest roles right now is to get everybody on the same page as far as systems and having really good practices and having a good tempo on the ice to make sure that we're improving every day."
Thompson explained, similarly, that the roles of captain are displayed on the ice, but off the ice their roles serve a more holistic purpose.
"Right now you're always the first one, you're kind of the middle man to go through when it comes down from higher ups, whether it's from the marketing department or the coaching staff or hockey operations," said Thompson. "When there's something that needs to be presented to the team, instead of them going out of their way or having to take time out of their busy schedules, they'll contact us and it's our job to relay that message and make sure that everyone is on the same page from top to bottom."
Getting everybody on the same page can be challenging, especially this season with eight freshmen joining the team. When the players returned for the summer and fall semesters it fell on Glen, Juha and Thompson to get the freshmen up to pace with the program.
Glen explained that although the freshman class is large this season, so far they have worked hard and have proven their dedication to the system that is Penn State hockey.
"We have a character group of guys and I think they're pretty fun to be around," said Glen. "[The freshmen] are smart hockey players and smart people and I think they're good learners so it makes our job pretty easy."
Thompson also wanted to give credit where it was due, as the level of difficulty in their jobs is defined by which freshmen join the program.
"I think you have to credit also the recruiting staff who really like to emphasize high quality and high character in this program," said Thompson. "So when you bring guys in that's what you expect, that's where you set the bar, and so far all our freshmen, they've come in and have met those expectations."
Penn State's captains have demonstrated qualities of high character themselves, like Glen's selflessness that led him to donate bone marrow in the middle of the 2013-14 season. Each has developed a personal identity within the team they hope comes to light during their time in the leadership role.
"I think I bring a lot of positivity around the dressing room," said Juha. "I try to keep guys lighthearted and excited to be at the rink everyday and ready to work hard."
Lightheartedness has its place in the locker room, but for more serious matters, Thompson hopes he's the player guys can count on.
"I like to think of myself as an outlet for people to come talk to, whether it's hockey or off the ice, academics, and personal issues," said Thompson. "I like to feel that they can come to me with any issues or just anything that's bothering them so they can get it off their chest so we can work and figure out ways so we can come to some solutions."
Lastly, Glen hopes that now that he has begun his senior season, he no longer has to vocalize his role, but rather display it.
"I think for me it's more about leading by example," said Glen. "I'm not a big yeller or screamer or anything like that and I just try to go about my business and hopefully show guys how to do it and do everything the right way."
As for leading their team in the right direction, the captains hope that all their hard work during the preseason will culminate in success both on and off the ice.
"Now that we've formed that foundation we need to start moving upwards," said Thompson. "Obviously records and winning percentage is a big deal in this league, so having success on the ice is a major factor, but we need to make sure that we stay focused and all our qualities that made us successful in the past we have to continue to hold those close so we can continue to prosper."
Wins may mean a lot to the team and program, but so do the teams such games are played against. The three captains explained which games they're most looking forward to this season.
"All the Big Ten rivals are a lot of fun for us," said Glen. "Home and away those are awesome games to be a part of a great atmosphere."
Although Juha and Thompson agreed that Big Ten games take the prize for most thrilling and most looked forward to by the fanatical fan base, they also emphasized that their first matchup against Windsor will set the tone for the months to come.
"I'm most looking forward to the exhibition game against Windsor," said Juha. "We've been working really hard over the summer and into the fall and it's just good to put it all together at some point. That's what I'm working towards."
Until then, the captains will continue to lead both on and off the ice in preparation for what they hope will be the best season in program history to date.