CALGARY – University of Calgary men's hockey coach Mark Howell announced Thursday that fifth-year veteran Brock Nixon will be the Dinos' captain for the 2012-13 season.

The team opens the CIS season tonight in Lethbridge with a tilt against the Pronghorns, returning to Calgary for Friday night's home opener.

Nixon served as an assistant captain last season and, according to Howell, was the logical choice to replace the departed Reid Jorgensen.

“Brock has been a leader on this team for the last few years,” explained Howell. “He has the respect of his teammates, this coaching staff he is a leader both on and off the ice as far as how he lives his life, in school, at the rink, he has really accepted the responsibilities.”

“It was an honor getting the news, being here five years, I've gone through a couple of different captains and knowing the strides they've made leading this team makes me really honored to wear the “C” for the Dinos,” said Nixon. “With the nucleus of players we have here, we have a larger leadership core than just players with letters on their jerseys.”

A fifth-year forward, Nixon takes on the responsibilities filled in the past by former teammates Jorgensen and Aaron Richards. Compared a more outspoken leader like Jorgensen, Nixon is expected to a guy that leads more by example.

“Nixon is a little bit like Mats Sundin, in that he led by example on and off the ice and said things when they had to be said,” described assistant coach Cory Cross, who spent three years with Sundin on the Toronto Maple Leafs. “Mats wasn't a guy who got in people's faces, but there had to be a time when the captain stepped up and Nixon is a lot like that.”
    
In 112 games played in a Dinos uniform, Nixon has recorded 86 points (42 goals, 44 assists). His best season at the CIS level came in 2008-09 when he notched 25 points, including 13 goals in 28 contests. During the 2012 playoffs, Nixon added to his proven track record with a number of clutch performances. In the quarterfinal against UBC Nixon scored the series-clinching goal in a decisive third game. In the next series against Manitoba, Nixon continued his impressive display with another series-winning goal, this time shorthanded in overtime to send Calgary to the Canada West Final.

Howell also announced Blake Clement and Kevin King as assistant captains. Born in Grande Prairie, Alta., Clement was highlighted as a guy who has stepped and has played very strong during early non-conference action. King enters his first full season with Calgary after splitting last year between the Dinos and at the pro level with the Syracuse Crunch.

“Clement has been with this team for four years now and has really established himself this year by stepping up by being vocal in the locker room and has come in here in great shape. King is only a second-year player, but really gets the culture of our team and what we are trying to accomplish, he has the ability to lead on the ice, but also carry a level of respect in the locker room, which is something you don't always get with second-year players,” says Howell of his new assistant captains.

The team returns home to host the Pronghorns the Friday night as they play their home opener at Father David Bauer Arena, with puck drop at 7 p.m. Calgary Flames defenceman Jay Bouwmester will be on hand for the game and will sign autographs during the first intermission as part of Sports Day in Canada celebrations.

-UC-