Health & Fitness
Harvie's Inferno: Salvador Named Captain
Harvie's Inferno: The Devilaholic gets all mushy about Bryce Salvador being named the guy to say, "Make it so!"
According to the NJ Devils official Facebook page, defenseman Bryce Salvador was named Captain of your New Jersey Devils.
Salvador has been one of my favorites since he joined the Devils at the end of the 2007-2008 season and he was a sorely missed when he was forced to take the 2010-2011 season off due to a concussion.
Who could forget his Con Smyth worthy performance (if the Devils were to have won the Cup last year) throughout the playoffs? The guy was everywhere. Not only bashing down the competition in front of Brodeur but also generated an amazing amount of offense, scoring four goals and tallying 14 assists in 24 playoff games last spring. When healthy, he has been a workhorse for the Devils, delivering bone rattling checks and more importantly displaying a high level of poise needed by the elite defensemen in the NHL.
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To some, Salvador is not the most obvious choice for captain. To me, he is an exceptional choice. Bobby Holik is famous for many things, but one of the things I always took to heart is when he said “it isn’t always about the guys that score the most goals.” That is an absolute truth in the world of the hockey.
A captain is a guy everyone should look to for support and be a beacon of hope when times are tough, and a level-head when things are going good. He should be the team’s Batman. When you need someone to take that shot, hit that annoying opponent into the boards, or punch that other guy in the face, the captain should answer the Bat-signal (probably in the form of a head nod from Coach Pete DeBoer). I firmly believe Salvador is that man.
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And if Salvador is Batman, he has two great Robins in Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk, both of whom will retain their status associate captains. I look up to these three dudes, and I don’t even play for the Devils, and I’m older than Kovy.
Most importantly, the debacle over who gets to wear the little piece of cloth in the shape of the letter “C” on his jersey is finished, and everyone can go about their business of winning more games than everyone else in the Atlantic Division.
Congratulations Bryce!
Let’s go Devils!
