The Kootenay ICE have named forward Peyton Krebs as the team’s new captain.
On Thursday, Dec. 6, Krebs became the 23rd captain in franchise history, and currently the youngest captain in the Western Hockey League.
November 16, 2016, marked his first career WHL game. Since then he has played in 101 regular season games. In that span, he has 29 goals, 63 assists for 92 points.
“Peyton’s work ethic on and off the ice, combined with the respect he has earned from the coaching staff and his teammates, made it clear that he is ready for this responsibility,” said head coach James Patrick in a press release Thursday.
The 17-year-old is tied for the team league in goals this year with 11 on the season but leads the team in assists and points with 21 for a total of 32 points in the season.
“We are a young group going through a learning process and Peyton is the right person to lead us moving forward,” said Patrick. “Peyton sets a high standard each and every day and is someone the rest of our young core will continue to learn from.”
Krebs led the 2017-18 season for points among WHL rookies with 54, and was fourth on the Kootenay Ice in scoring.
Having represented Canada on a number of occasions, Krebs was on Team Red at the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge where he had three points in three games. Also, capturing gold in the 2018-19 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. In the tournament, he had two goals and five points, including setting up the overtime winner against the United States in the semi-finals.
“When we started the rebuilding process last season, we knew we would need to be patient, focus on building a young nucleus that could grow together and provide those players with opportunity to develop,” said Matt Cockell, president and general manager. “We are committed to our plan and it is the right time in that process for our young core, with Peyton’s leadership, to elevate their level of responsibility.”
Krebs has been noted as a top 2019 NHL draft prospect and has been projected to go in the first round.
Recently he recorded his first hat trick against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Nov. 30.
“There is no better person to lead the team moving forward than Peyton Krebs,” said Cockell.