The St. Louis Blue have named forward Ryan O’Reilly the 23rd captain in team history.
O’Reilly will replace Alex Pietrangelo, who wore the “C” for four years but left the Blues in free agency to join the Vegas Golden Knights. Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko will serve as the team’s assistant captains.
“Ryan’s work ethic on and off the ice and his commitment day in and day out is second to none,” said Blues coach Craig Berube in a statement. “He leads by example with how hard he works during practices and our games and he relays the right message from our coaching staff to our entire team.”
“He will make a great captain. Good luck to him, no doubt he is the right choice,” Pietrangelo told The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford when it was reported that he was going to be named captain.
The 29-year-old O’Reilly is entering his third season with the Blues and won the Conn Smythe and Selke Trophies in the club’s Stanley Cup-winning 2018-19 season. Last season he placed third in both Selke and Lady Byng trophy voting.
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