FORT MCMURRAY, AB (January 17, 2013) — The Fort McMurray Oil Barons have named 1992-born forward Mike Marianchuk (Innisfail, AB) as captain for the remainder of the 2012-13 season.
Marianchuk was previously an alternate captain and takes over the “C” from Brock Maschmeyer, who was recently traded.
“I pretty much just showed up to practice one day, and Gord called me into the office, and explained to me that I'd be wearing the C from now on,” said Marianchuk. “It feels pretty good.”
Marianchuk says there were definitely some rumblings that he would be the new man to lead the room.
“It was kind of in the back of my head once those deals were finalized,” he recalled. “There was kind of a talk around the team that I might be getting it, but it's always nice to hear it from the coach first.”
It's the second season as an Oil Baron for Marianchuk, after being acquired from the Drumheller Dragons in the 2011 off-season prior to the team's trip to Russia.
He's had an “A” on his jersey since the early part of the 2011-12 campaign, but still considers the change to be an adjustment.
“There's definitely a lot more responsibility now,” he admits, “but I think I'm going to approach it the same way, just carry myself the same on and off the ice, try to lead by example for the other fellas – keep doing what I'm doing.”
Marianchuk won the team's “Unsung Hero” award at its post-season awards banquet last year.