NEWS

This is the third in a series of short OJHL captain profile interviews from website contributor Ron Valentine.

Josh Allan & Lucas Brown - Trenton Golden Hawks
(pictured top left - Allan on left, photo credit: Shawn Muir/OJHL Images & Brown on right, photo credit: Amy Deroche/OJHL Images)
The Trenton Golden Hawks are going to employ dual captains again this season. LUCAS BROWN is in his last year of Junior and looks to play a leadership role on and off the ice. He knows it will be hard to follow up the club's achievements of last season but sees no reason why the team cannot make the final step this time around. His goal is to play CIS hockey next season and feels that he can help keep the focus on winning. JOSH ALLAN is from Orillia and the defencman has already committe to Sacred Heart next season. He has worn the 'C' before in minor hockey and he is not afraid to be vocal when neccessary. He loves and wants to keep up the winning mentality on the Golden Hawks. He sees himself as a defence-first player but likes to jump up on the rush where necessary. Both players know they are in a tough Division but feel they have the tools in place to make a strong run this season and know that the fans will be there in numbers and will always be behind them.

Michael Choma - Mississauga Chargers
(pictured top right - photo credit: Anna Matthews/OJHL Images)
If positivity and enthusisam got your club to the playoffs then the Mississauga Chargers would already be halfway there led by new captain MICHAEL CHOMA who has yet to make the postseason in his OJHL career and very much wants to set that right this season. The Chargers have an uphill battle ahead but he sees lots of plusses on this club. He says he will do whatever it takes to get into the playoffs. He employs a physical style behind the blueline but knows how important it is to stay on the ice and keep the opposing forwards at bay. He follows the defence-first philosophy and has only great things to say about his coaching staff. He says he loves to play at the Port Credit arena, the Chargers home rink, and hopes that the suceess he feels the club can achieve this season will bring more fans out to the games. The former Burlington Cougar, a native of Oakville, has one more year left at this level and after his Junior career is over his goal is to stay in hockey as long as possible and he wants to leave all his potions open at this point. He cites his assistant captains Kyler Matthews, Max Routledge and Shane Beaulieu as being major forces in the League this season.

Kyle Clarke - North York Rangers
(pictured bottom left - photo credit: Andy Corneau/OJHL Images)
For his entire Junior Hockey career KYLE CLARKE, 19, has been a North York Ranger. He has had previous experience in this role but it was a while ago in Minor Bantam. He has two assistants named so far- Keegan Blasby, who he calls the 'old man' of the dressing room because of his diverse hockey experience and sniper and ex-Pickering Panther Chris Sekelyk. He looks forward to a strong season from the Rangers who won their first three in a row before going down to two of the top teams in the League in the 'Showcase' which he looks at as a learning experience.  He feels that the Raiders and Blades will be the toughest opposition in the Conference noting that Oakville usually seems to have their number and Georgetown beat them in the second round of the playoffs last season. He likes playing at the Carnegie arena, they will be returning there next month after being forced to play at the tiny Victoria Village arena while repairs are being done to the roof at their home rink.  He looks for Nick Campoli, who is currently out with an injury, to have a great season when he returns and believes that Blasby and Sekelyk will be in the League's top scorers at season's end. He is also very high on goalkeeper Jeremie Lintner who he puts in the top 5 in the League. Kyle likes to talk about the other players but when pushed he feels he can reach the ambitious goal of 50 points this season personally. He employs a relaxed style off the ice as captain but on game day it's all serious and he gets the respect of his teammates. He would like to get a scholarship but he still has one year left as a Ranger.

Todd Winder - Newmarket Hurricanes
(pictured bottom right - photo credit: Tim Bates/OJHL Images)
TODD WINDER is in his last year of Junior Hockey but it's his first time with the coveted 'C' on his sweater for the Newmarket Hurricanes. He
started playing Junior Hockey with the Jr. C Bruins in his hometwon of Uxbridge. He says he leads by example but does not hesitate to speak up when necessary. He moved from the Aurora Tigers to the Hurricanes and has no trouble getting pumped up when the two local rivals meet. Todd has three assistant captains this season- Christian Dedonato, Marco Bozzo and Owen Ramsay.  He feels his club has a good mix of experience and youth and he is looking forward to the challenge of making it to the playoffs and feels the players have the skill and mindset to do just that. Although more concerned about team rather than personal goals he would love to be able to be in the top ten of League pointscorers by the season's end.  After his graduation from Junior Hockey he would ideally like to get a scholarship and he also looks forward to being able to coach in the future. He says he loves to help other players and feels he has the hockey knowledge that can help them. He feels that the Hurricanes as a team need to be defensively consistent and if they can get better in this area then they will get the results they are looking for.

The Captains Series is written by longtime Hamilton Junior hockey supporter and OJHL website contributor Ron Valentine. Follow Ron on twitter - @ronandlynda