Chicago Blackhawks: Future Alternate Captains (Part I: Alex DeBrincat)

When considering the Blackhawks continuously aging core, a considerable amount of depressing thoughts come to mind. People may question whether or not they’ll be the same player again, if (or when) they’ll be traded, and countless other less-than-happy ideas. However, one that isn’t as unfortunate is who will take over the Alternate Captain role once Brent Seabrook ages out.

This past summer marked the ten year anniversary of Jonathan Toews taking over as captain on July 18th, 2008. Toews looks to be a Chicago Blackhawk for life, meaning he will be the guy wearing the “C” on his chest for the foreseeable future.

While that appears to be almost certain, what isn’t is who is most likely to earn a spot as the next alternate captain once Seabrook’s (and eventually Duncan Keith’s) time in Chicago is over.

It would be nice if someday down the road Adam Boqvist, Henri Jokiharju, or even somebody like Jake Wise stepped up and took a leadership role.

However, it remains to seen if all these guys don’t end up being Kyle Beach 2.0.

*Knocks on wood*

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So, let’s explore three of the players from last seasons’ Chicago Blackhawks roster who have the best chance of earning an “A” on their sweater down the road.

Alex DeBrincat

Alex DeBrincat is 20 years old and fits the new “Let’s give our new young guy a leadership role even though he hasn’t really done anything yet” trend pretty well.

See: Connor McDavid, Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Toews.

That’s not to say DeBrincat is a bad candidate, though. He’s clearly talented as he led the Chicago Blackhawks in goals last season with 28. Additionally, his offensive talent isn’t the only thing which makes him a potential candidate.

He’s got thick skin and knows how to battle adversity. At 5’7 and 165 pounds, he’s dealt with critics saying he doesn’t have the size to make at the next level assumedly throughout his entire career.

DeBrincat has never let those voices stop him. Being able to take critics and block out outside noise are both two good qualities of a leader. Furthermore, he’s stepped up in big situations as he scored a big goal in the IIHF World Junior quarterfinals to help the United States win gold in 2016.

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Additionally, if the Chicago Blackhawks take a year or two off to “rebuild,” Alex DeBrincat will have been one of those guys around since the beginning of this “new wave.” The situation is somewhat reminiscent of Patrick Sharp back in 2008.

Though Sharp was significantly older when named alternate captain than Debrincat currently is (26 versus 20), it won’t be a few years before this is a real decision, anyway.

Translation: Alex still has a time to mature.

Furthermore, when Sharp was given the “A,” he was coming off a year in which he led the Chicago Blackhawks in goals with 36. The same could happen with Alex. Additionally, Sharp was around in the “dark ages” before the Blackhawks became the dynasty they are today. That sounds eerily similar to DeBrincat’s situation if the club does in fact take a couple years off.

Stay tuned for other candidates with a chance to wear the “A” down the road.