New York Rangers: Why Brady Skjei should be an alternate captain

Brady Skjei embraced his “young veteran” status last season. The New York Rangers will name new alternate captains this season, and Skjei should be one of them.

New York Rangers’ head coach David Quinn is in no rush to name a captain for his team. Last season, the captain Ryan McDonagh was traded at the deadline to Tampa Bay.

This means the Rangers will most likely only go with alternate captains this season. A few players wore A’s last season, and could keep them permanently this year.

One of those players that could earn an alternate captain spot is Brady Skjei. Although the young defenseman only wore an “A” on his sweater for one preseason game last year, he grew as a leader throughout the year.

As the Rangers, especially the defense, struggled Skjei stepped up. When McDonagh left the lineup with an injury and then again permanently after the trade, Skjei played more minutes and took on a top defensive role.

In his rookie year, Skjei averaged 17 minutes of ice time per game. Last season, that went up to 21 minutes. After McDonagh, he led Rangers defensemen in points. The difference between the two was only one point (26 vs. 25 points).

Many consider Skjei’s performance last season a “sophomore slump.” However, he was second on the Rangers in hits (127) and blocked shots (119). He was third in average ice time (21:01), fifth in shots on goal (153), and tied for sixth in assists (21).

Only in his second full NHL season, Skjei’s teammates even noticed him taking on this “young veteran” status.

Marc Staal talked about Skjei last season, saying, “For him he’s 23, 24 and has a couple years under his belt. He’s got some experience. He’s a really talented player. He’s going to be a guy who’s going to be looked upon to do more of that for sure…It may be asking a lot early on, but it’s the situation we’re in. I think he’s ready for that.”

He continued by saying, “I think when you’re playing the game and you’re doing the right things individually to prepare, it rubs off the right way…He’s a positive guy who comes to the rink upbeat and ready to go every day. That’s a good attribute to have in this situation.”

Going into this season, Skjei will need to step up into this larger role even more. He can be a role model and mentor for the rookies joining the lineup this season. With the Rangers going into full rebuild mode, there will be plenty of rookies that need guidance.

This is particularly true of the defense. Even last season Neal Pionk and John Gilmour played in the last few Rangers games. Both of them have a chance at making the NHL lineup to start next season.

If either (or both) of them make the team, Skjei can help them on and off the ice. He knows what it is like to try to settle in a new environment and try to play your best to stay in the NHL. He knows because that was his reality not too long ago.

The way Skjei stepped up last season is a positive sign for the future. Under Quinn he can grow even more into the player and leader the Rangers need him to be. Now that he signed a six-year contract extension, the team committed to him as an integral part of the future in New York.

So when the Rangers make decisions about which players will don the A’s on their sweaters, Skjei should definitely be in the mix. He is young, but still experienced enough to make a real impact in the locker room.

As the “young veteran” in the lineup, Skjei makes sense to be one of the alternate captains and leaders of this “new era” of the Rangers.

Skjei himself talked about this new challenge. He said, “I’ll try to bring the best I can bring to the table…All the younger guys have a chance to step up. We have a lot of guys that can really prove themselves this year, and I’m excited for that.”