Luke "Captain" Schenn

“A leader by its meaning is one who goes first and leads by example, so that others are motivated to follow him.” Luke Schenn is going to be the next captain for our dearly loved Maple Leafs if Burke gets his way and most fans would concur with him on this. If we compare Luke Schenn’s character to the definition of leader I think he fits the bill of a leader flawlessly. Luke proved to us in his rookie year that he is prepared to go first and lead the way even though he is only 19. He led by example many times when he went out of his way to help out a teammate in need of help and this quality is an excellent one to have as a captain.

Although in my opinion a leader also should be someone who is devoted to the team’s goal and will strive to acheive it no matter what. Luke Schenn loses out to some extent here, not because he’s not dedicated to the goal but the fact that he hasn’t been playing long enough to show his loyalty. The fire in Luke’s eyes whenever he strides around the ACC ice is enough for one to agree that this guy will never give up no matter what hardship pops up in front of him. Luke is that kind of guy who will always turn up on the ice as a leader even if the coach decides to place the “C” on another guy’s jersey. Players like Schenn don’t need a letter to tell them their role because they are born with leadership qualities and the passion to succeed.

There have been suggestions from around the Leafs that Kaberle is a possible choice for captain but does he really come across as a leader? I would say yes he does come across as a leader, there is no problem with one being a quiet leader because sometimes those quiet guys are the best captains due to their immense knowledge of the game. The problem with Kaberle is not with him but with the management who seem to want to send him away and thus making him captain and seeing him traded away would be bizarre and unreasonable. Mike Komisarek and Beauchemin are decent nominees for the captaincy slot but they have just arrived and it would be awkward to make one of them captain due to their unfamilarity with the team and it’s goals.

This is why Luke Schenn is going to be our captain, perhaps some of you will say that he becomes our captain by default due to the lack of star power on our team but you have to realize that captaincy is not about star power instead it’s about heart, determination and loyalty which Schenn seems to be showing quite evidently. Does this mean we thrust the captaincy on his young shoulders right away? Not exactly. The general consensus is that we should wait perhaps a year or two until Schenn matures as a player and shows a certain level of consistency with his defensive play before making him captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. We obviously don’t know how he interacts with the players in the dressing room but whenever a Maple Leaf has been popped the question in regards to Schenn’s leadership qualities the answer is always positive. Once you start getting positive remarks from your teammates then you know that you are doing something right.