| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Mike Ricci will be the San Jose Sharks captain for the season's first 10 games under coach Ron Wilson's new plan to rotate the job.
Wilson decided to copy Minnesota's successful scheme of periodically choosing a captain during the season from a pool of candidates his players select. Ricci, a popular veteran forward and longtime alternate captain, was Wilson's first choice.
``It's an honor any time you get to wear the ``C'' in this league,'' Ricci said. ``We have 23 leaders on this team, and anyone could be asked to wear it.''
Owen Nolan, San Jose's captain since 1998 and the franchise's career scoring leader, was traded to Toronto last March. Ricci is just the sixth captain in Sharks history.
Vincent Damphousse and Scott Hannan will begin the season as San Jose's alternate captains. Damphousse has worn the ``A'' for several seasons, while Hannan is being given his first leadership role.