THUNDER BAY – Newly named Lakehead Thunderwolves captain Justin Sefton says he plans to draw upon the leadership example set by a pair of NHLers who wore the ‘C’ during his major junior days in Sudbury.
The 23-year-old blue-liner said Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno and Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Frankie Corrado showed him the way as a teenager, and he hopes to follow in their footsteps in assuming the Thunderwolves captaincy to start his third season of OUA hockey.
“Those two were probably the two best captains I had playing in hockey, so it’s kind of putting what they had together and what I learned from them and just kind of go with it,” said Sefton, a third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2011 who was chosen by his teammates to lead the way on and off the ice.
He knows he’s following in some pretty deep footsteps with the Thunderwolves, taking over the role from the now departed and graduated Luke Maw.
But it goes much further back than that, the Thunder Bay native said.
“In my era, when I was a kid, it was Joel Scherban. I grew up watching those guys and it was always something you wanted to do – to play for Lakehead and being named captain is obviously a great honour,” Sefton said.
“And for a Thunder Bay guy, I think I take more pride in being named captain than most would if they weren’t from Thunder Bay.”
Sefton, a junior, returned to his hometown Wolves midway through the 2014-15 campaign, after a two-game stint in the ECHL.
In two seasons he’s scored five times and added 11 assists in 37 regular-season contests.
His new role will be challenging, he said, but Sefton believes he’s more than up for the task, especially with the assistance of his corps of assistant captains, a group that includes veteran forwards Kelin Ainsworth, Cody Alcock and Carson Dubchak.
“I think my role is to keep playing my way. We have a few guys in our leadership corps that are vocal. For me it’s making sure I do pitch in vocally, but I think the big thing from me is my performance and showing my leadership by the way I play and my role on the team.”
It’s a mark of pride to be chosen by your peers, Sefton added.
“It’s nice when you’ve been picked by your own team. It’s not the coaching staff having their guys. It came from within the room. I think that means a lot more for me, knowing I have respect from the guys in the room,” he said.
LU coach Bill McDonald called Sefton a great choice, a player who cares about the game.
“He loves hockey,” said McDonald, reached by phone by CKPR Radio. “He wants to win and he’s just very passionate about the team and watching them win hockey games. He will bring that.”
McDonald went on to say he plans to rely on all four players who earned letters this season and is confident they can get the job done.
“I think everything will work out good,” he said.
Lakehead opens the 2016-17 campaign on Friday night at Fort William Gardens against the Windsor Lancers, a team the Wolves hold a 39-21 all-time series edge against over the past 15 seasons. The two teams split last season’s two-game set.
