Rangers name Drury 25th captain

October 4, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Once Jaromir Jagr departed for Russia, the proverbial writing was on the wall. The Rangers’ next captain would be Chris Drury, who when he signed on with the club in the summer of 2007 everyone figured was waiting in line for that honor.

Earlier today with the club also getting down to 23 on their roster by reassigning defensemen Corey Potter and Brian Fahey, Ranger Team President and GM Glen Sather made the worst kept secret official by naming the 32 year-old Drury the 25th captain in franchise history.

“Chris Drury is a natural leader who possesses all of the qualities and characteristics we desire from our captain,” praised Sather. “He has always been known as a clutch performer and a winner. Chris leads by example with his tireless work ethic on and off the ice, and is extremely deserving of this honor.”

The Trumbull, Connecticut native enters his second season on Broadway with more responsibilities placed on his shoulders as a revamped Ranger roster looks to make it four straight playoff appearances and go beyond the second round where they’ve fallen short the past two Springs.

In his first season in New York, Drury got off to a slow start but had a great second half becoming the team’s most consistent player tying with Jagr for the club lead in goals (25) and ranking third overall with 58 points. Known as a clutch performer, he didn’t disappoint pacing the Original Six club in power play goals (12) and game-winners (7) while sharing the club lead in power play points (29) with Jagr and Scott Gomez.

“To be a captain anywhere in the NHL is a huge honor and a huge thrill,” a delighted Drury said Friday a couple of days removed from scoring twice to help lead his team to a come from behind win over Metallurg Magnitogorsk for the first ever Victoria Cup.

“To get to do it with the Rangers, the team that I grew up cheering for and going to the Garden as a kid, and now to be a captain it’s hard to put into words. It’s a huge honor. I’m just thrilled.”

Drury becomes only the second American-born player to captain the Rangers joining No.2, Brian Leetch. Now, the real challenge begins for a player with tremendous character who never seems fazed by anything.

He does have some experience in the familiar leadership role having helped co-captain the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres to a President’s Trophy before signing with the Blueshirts two summers ago.

“There are a lot of good guys that Tom [Renney] and Glen could have picked,” Drury noted. “I am going to lean heavily on them, and hopefully we’ll tackle it all together. It’s a pretty good mix. That’s how Danny and I did it and it seemed to work well.”