Re: UNH 2018 Offseason- Out with the old , in with the semi new?
With all due respect, and in fairness to this kid....just because he hasnt been the player you expected him to be ( how many times did you evaluate him prior to UNH?) it does not necessarily mean he is a poor teammate, friend, or leader. It does not necessarily mean he he isnt a hard worker or a good student. It doesnt necessarily mean he hasnt given everything he has to the program.
Maybe he ends up a captain, maybe not.
Maybe hes a good option, maybe he isnt.
Maybe he is a hell of a guy, maybe not.
But the point is, whether he is or isnt, there is a very high likelihood that it has absolutely diddly to do with the fact that he hasnt lived up to your expectations on the ice, which may or may not have been reasonable if you had seen him play prior to UNH.
OK let's discuss this in a little further detail. One thing you are 100% right about, I never saw the kid play live before he came to UNH. But I did know that he was a 7th round (low) NHL draft pick, so someone(s) out there thought he had the potential to play at the top level. So let's start there.
Now he arrives at UNH, and he puts together a decent-but-not-eye-popping freshman season where he goes 7G - 9A - with a -8 plus/minus. You would like to think that's the start of a pretty decent UNH career for the kid … but in the two seasons since, he hasn't matched that output (year before last he missed more games due to injury, but prorated figures don't tell us he was on a pace to surpass), and has either maintained or backed up a little bit in all categories, except for a small +/- improvement. But ask most UNH observers, and they will tell you his most noticeable trait has been taking untimely and/or dumb penalties.
There are lots of nice people who are terrific teammates and friends, give everything they have within them to the program, and who work hard and post good grades. None of that necessarily makes you a good leader. I want someone who can either lead by example, or lead (in a positive way) by the sheer force of their personality. And I've seen nothing over the span of the last three seasons that's ever made me stop to pause and say, hey, that Vela kid looks like he's future Captain material.
The good news for Vela is that, if selected this season, he wouldn't even be close to the worst "C" selection UNH has made since Coach Umile went into semi-retirement. They only "got it right" once during the three year Long Goodbye, and most of us on here knew that instinctively the moment they announced it. The other two choices I'm sure were well-intentioned, but likewise most of us on here knew immediately they were not great choices. The records of the respective teams, whether by coincidence or not, reflected the best of the three seasons with the best Captain choice. For whatever that's worth.
Coach Souza brought all of these kids into the program, so he knows best what these kids are all about, and who would make the best leader(s). Personally, I would lean towards sending a strong merit-based message to the team, and pick from either Gildon or Maass, who were standouts on a crappy team last year, and were two top pairing guys from Day One right through the end of the season. Especially if one (or both) of these guys were sold on UNH in part because of some promise or chance of future leadership. Don't just hand it to a borderline senior or upperclassman because he has a nice "story", or seems glib in dealing with what little media still even cares about the program (notice no Guiliano coverage on USCHO to date?). Use it to reward AND motivate one of your best players to become even more, on AND off the ice. Give that player(s) an extra year or two to become an unofficial link or draw for other recruits still out there that he might have some pull with, showing them how the new coach thinks a little differently. I hate when Captaincy becomes an entitlement or a misguided popularity contest.
IIRC our friends up in Orono picked a soph as one of their captains last season, and a junior as one of their alternate captains. Patrick Foley was still the best Captain UNH ever had, and he had a letter for three seasons (A as an injury redshirt soph, and C as a junior and senior). It seemed to work out well in those scenarios, so why not now with this team, which is lacking in any obvious candidates?
