A pair of former Wisconsin high school stars will get an opportunity to wear the "C" for the hometown Badgers. Mosinee native Chase Drake and Waupaca native Brad Navin have been named co-captains for the 2014-15 season, head coach Mike Eaves announced on Thursday.
Eaves also announced that Eagan, Minnesota, native Joseph LaBate will be an alternate captain.
"The team voted this past Monday," Eaves said in a release. "Usually we have the voting at the end of our season, but because we are such a young team with 11 freshmen, we waited until they all had some time together to get to know each other.
"It was quite clear that the two guys who are our co-captains were the picks. The voting was very close and Joseph was a strong third, so it became evident how the guys felt about their leadership."
A senior defenseman, Drake is in his fifth season with the Badgers after taking a redshirt as a freshman. Drake has played in 57 games at UW, including a career-high 37 last season as a junior. Drake also reached highs in goals (three), assists (five) and points (eight) last year.
Navin is in his fourth season at Wisconsin after coming to Madison as a true freshman out of Waupaca High School. Navin, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, has played in 106 games for the Badgers, and also reached career-highs last season in goals (four), assists (five) and points (nine) as a junior.
Expected to carry much of the load offensively this season for Wisconsin, LaBate is the top returning scorer for the Badgers. A fourth-round selection in the 2011 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Labate netted a career-high 11 goals last season as a junior, and the expectations will only increase as a senior with the "A" on his sweater.
This is the first season since 2008-09 that the Badgers have had co-captains. Ben Street and Blake Geoffrion shared the duties that season. Street and Geoffrion, along with Ryan McDonagh, served as tri-captains during the 2009-10 campaign. It marks the 18th time in UW history that the team has gone with more than one captain.
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