Oliver Ekman-Larsson was named captain of the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
The 27-year-old defenseman will succeed center Shane Doan, who retired after last season and was Arizona captain from 2003-17.
"I'm extremely honored," said Ekman-Larsson, who had been an alternate captain for the Coyotes the past four seasons. "I'm grateful for this opportunity and want to thank [general manager] John [Chayka] and [coach Rick Tocchet] for believing in me. It's an honor and a privilege to be a captain in the NHL and I'm looking forward to the challenge ahead. We have a lot of great leaders in our room and together, we will work hard to achieve our goal of becoming a perennial playoff team."
Ekman-Larsson, the No. 6 pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, has 290 points (102 goals, 188 assists) in 576 NHL games over eight seasons, all with the Coyotes. He becomes the fourth captain in franchise history, following forward Keith Tkachuk (1996-2001), defenseman Teppo Numminen (2001-03) and Doan.
"Oliver is a tremendous player and person," Chayka said. "On the ice, he leads by example and is one of the game's premier defensemen. Off the ice, he is greatly admired and respected by his teammates, coaches and training staff and is also one of our most active players in the community. He is loyal, the consummate professional and a fierce competitor and I'm confident that he'll be an excellent captain for the Coyotes for many years to come."
Tocchet said, "Oliver really stepped up last season and proved to me that he's an excellent leader. He's an elite defenseman and I love the way that he battles and competes each game. He's got great character and his teammates respect him. He'll be a great captain for us and I'm very happy for him. He's earned this."
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