Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Will Alex Pietrangelo become the Blues' next captain?

07/29/2016 at 12:14pm EDT

Via NHL.com, St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo spoke with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jesus Ortiz regarding the possibility of Pietrangelo succeeding David Backes as the Blues' next captain:

“Yeah, I would welcome the responsibility,” he said. “I think being so close with Dave over the five years he was captain, I’ve learned a lot from him just kind of sitting back and seeing how he operates on a daily basis. Not only on the ice but off the ice, which is a big part of it trying to keep the locker room together and doing the off-ice stuff.

“He was always trying to help me through that. I think he knew this opportunity might come some day for me. He was always willing to answer my questions, and I was always eager to ask him. So if there is a guy that I was lucky to learn from, it was him. Being such good friends of his made it that much easier.”

Blues GM Doug Armstrong tipped his hand ever-so-slightly as well:

Pietrangelo, 26, and Alexander Steen are the two most likely candidates to be picked by coach Ken Hitchcock and general manager Doug Armstrong as the 22nd captain in Blues history.

Pietrangelo, the Blues’ top defenseman, and Steen served as alternate captains last season. They are both respected leaders capable of taking over the captain’s role.

“He was an assistant captain at a young age and he has leadership qualities that we’ve seen,” Armstrong said of Pietrangelo. “As he gets more and more comfortable in the leadership role he’s certainly growing into an elite player that has a presence on the ice.”

Continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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