CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - Looking around the dressing room at the Panthers IceDen, newest Florida Panthers captain Derek MacKenzie, laidback and earnest, couldn't help but remark on the various leaders that occupied the stalls surrounding his own.
"The group of the guys that we have here, especially the young guys, it's obvious that one of them will wear this thing in the near future," said MacKenzie, who served as an alternate captain last season. "To be part of the process at this point in my career, it's a lot of fun.
"For me, and I mean this, it could have gone to any of a handful of guys in the room. It was a fun summer, a good summer and a good chance for me to catch up with the guys and make sure we were all on the same page.''
As MacKenzie pointed out, there is certainly no shortage of leaders within Florida's tight-knit locker room - a characteristic intentionally sought out by the organization in recent years. In fact, it's fair to assume that nearly every member of the team's 23-man roster has been in a position of leadership at one point or another - in either the junior or professional ranks - during their careers.
Jussi Jokinen and Shawn Thornton have both previously served as Panthers alternate captains, while Roberto Luongo and Jaromir Jagr each captained an NHL franchise at point or another during their illustrious careers.