Vincent Lecavalier
Vincent Lecavalier was born in Ile Bizard, Quebec, and was drafted first overall by Tampa Bay in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, during which new Lightning owner Art Williams proclaimed that Lecavalier would be "the Michael Jordan of hockey". On March 11, 2000, following his sophomore season, he was named captain, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 11 months. That mark has since been surpassed by Sidney Crosby, of course. Lecavalier was later stripped of the captaincy before the 2001-02 NHL season. Around that time, he also clashed frequently with head coach John Tortorella. Tortorella demanded more accountability from his players and stripped Lecavalier of the team captaincy after the he missed the start of 2001-02 due to contract negotiations. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, he was named Most Valuable Player of the Canadian National Team in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, which Canada won. Lecavalier was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2006 Olympics, but returned to Tampa without a medal. Along with the Stanley Cup ring, young Lecavalier has several accolades in his career that make him one of the league's elite players. He made the NHL All-Star game in the 2002-2003 season, won the Cup in the 2003-2004 season of course, played in the All-Star game in the 2006-2007 season and won the Maurice Richard trophy this past season by scoring an amazing 52 goals. The young star has a long way to go in what looks to be an incredible NHL career. If he gets the chance to lead again, one can be certain that Vinny will make an excellent captain for any NHL team and will show the way through his tenacity and his ability to make things happen on the ice. He is a responsible young kid with a great gift for the game of hockey, making great plays with his stickhandling abilities and using his hockey sense to score goals.
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