In hockey, the team captain is not always the face of the franchise. Such is the case with the Chicago Blackhawks, who named veteran forward Nick Foligno as the locker room's head honcho on Wednesday.
There's no question that Foligno was the obvious choice to lead this year's young squad. But it does beg the question: When will the organization hand to reins to its superstar center, Connor Bedard.
Bedard's eventual captaincy is inevitable, but the guy is still just 19 years of age. The Blackhawks left the captain spot vacant last season to allow some breathing room after the departure of Jonathan Toews. Foligno prevailed as the de facto locker room leader. It's only right general manager Kyle Davidson made it official.
Toews was the same age as Bedard when he took over as captain in his second-year. The Blackhawks clearly do not want to pin that same responsibility so soon on their star player who's already under an immense amount of pressure to perform.
Bedard, though, has proven his maturity and natural leadership qualities. It would stand to reason that his captaincy could come as soon as next season. It's also entirely possible the Blackhawks leave a 36-year-old Foligno in charge until his contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season.
We'll have to wait and see how things shape up both on and off this ice this season.
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