(Kemptville 73s Insider - September 2, 2016)

 

Being named a team captain is a definite honor.

 

The position of captain is given to the player the younger guys can look up to and the older ones can respect and trust. The pressures and downsides to this honor are often overlooked.

 

With this great honor, comes great responsibility.

 

A captain must lead by example and show up, every game, practice and every activity with the sole purpose of being successful as a team.

 

They encompass their team’s identity.

 

Captains are expected to perform in clutch situations and lead the team to victory. It is also expected that captains will maintain their control in the most difficult situations and be the model of excellence for their teammates.  They have to be able to communicate well with their teammates and the coaching staff alike.

 

Wow! Coaches and teammates expect a lot from captains don’t they?

 

Is it really worth it to be a captain? 

 

To Alex Row it is.

 

One cold, rainy night last October I travelled to an away game.  Heck, there was nothing on television so why not.  It’s great hockey.

 

As I walked into the lobby there was Alex standing with a few other players that weren’t playing that night due to injuries and such.

 

He seemed agitated standing there, but as we were introduced he was genuine and sincere.  “Too bad you’re not playing tonight” I offered.  “Yeah, but I have to do what the doctors and coaches tell me”. 

 

“It’s pronounced Raow” he corrected me.  Feeling a little stupid – an area in which I need no assistance, he provided the olive branch statement to me, “Don’t worry about, it happens every day.”

 

As we stood and talked he flashed that mega-watt smile and was genuine and sincere. 

 

Wait - there’s no way this kid is the fierce competitor that I see on the ice. 

 

Other than the bandaged nose you’d never know it.  We stood and chatted for several more minutes before he said to me “Thanks for coming to one of our away games. It means a lot to have fans do that.”

 

As he left to go to check on the team in the dressing room, I overheard one player say, “It’s gotta be killin’ him not to play, even hurt he’s still as good as anyone.”

 

That was my first-ever interaction with him as a person, and it shows you, no matter who you are, where you are, he makes time for you and is very genuine about it. That left a great impression on me.

 

I set out to learn about him and his impact on the Kemptville 73s team and the individuals it envelopes. I figured what better way than to ask folks who know him personally, who have experienced firsthand the power and weight of his words and actions.

 

The true testament of a man, as far as I see it, is what folks say about him when he's still alive, but not around for the conversation. Face time can often be fake time. So when compliments are flowing with proof, you know a guy is special.

 

The stories about him are rich in character, the kind a humble guy would never talk about himself. Humility is the theme from these conversations. 

 

Having played his entire junior hockey career with the same team, it would be easy to assume that Row earned the captaincy due to his long tenure, but that’s just not the case.

 

Happenstance maybe. Not accident. You don't earn respect -- and you certainly don't keep it -- by accident.  And he’s earned it.

 

Leadership has to come naturally. You can’t force it. Players will see right through you if you are artificial or self-serving.

 

He’s a warrior on the ice and a tremendous leader off. 

 

Even battling through injuries he still amassed a very respectable 44 points while playing in 56 games, including an even split of 22 goals, 22 assists last year. He ended up with 5 game winning goals, which was second on the team.

 

Never giving up and battling through injuries he still finds himself at nearly a point a game.

 

That’s no small feat.

 

Babe Ruth once said that it’s impossible to beat a man that never gives up.

 

I’m pretty sure Babe Ruth would’ve enjoyed meeting Alex Row.

 

A year prior to that he earned 54 points with 3 game winning goals while playing 58 games.

 

In many ways he’s actually wearing the wrong jersey. 

 

No - there should still be “C” on it, but he’s more like other captains the 19 jersey is best known for.

 

Alex Row plays the game and conducts himself very similar to both Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman and the modern day 19, Jonathan Toews.  Not flashy, tremendous work ethic and has the ability to come through in clutch situations if needed. The team always comes first.

 

He bristles at the comparison, but the similarities are unmistakable. 

 

“Wow! I don’t know. Really? I’m not so sure but thank you for that.”

 

He bristles only because he doesn’t feel he’s worthy since last year was remarkably his first year as a Captain.

 

His first year!

 

“He is the best captain I've ever had,” said former team mate Owen Guy an NCAA Division I Commit. “He's a great role model, he knows when it’s the right time to speak up or when his actions can do the talking.”

 

A sentiment echoed by 73’s Associate Coach Kenny Fleck. “I’ve been involved in hockey for 25 years and I’ve never seen a better captain”. 

 

Great praise from a guy that’s well respected in the junior hockey circles.

 

A captain must have a strong off ice presence by being the definitive leader.  They provide insight and encouragement to younger players to help grow the culture of the team and the growth of the individual.  This interaction with a team captain tends to have an everlasting impact the career path of young players. A few short quiet moments can have a lifetime effect.

 

Rookies know they can go to him to ease the transition to the faster paced junior “A” level.  He’s going to make the time for them.  “With me he was really nice and approachable,” said Tyler Beauparlant. “Being a rookie that really made me feel welcomed to the team.”

 

“Even when things are going badly or they’re going well I try to pat guys on the back because I want them to know that they’re going to have someone stick with them,” said Row.

 

“I remember being 16 years old going into showcase weekend and I remember I didn’t play much!” chuckles Row. “I didn’t get a lot of shifts but as the year went on I earned my spot just like anyone else and I was lucky that Kemptville gave me a shot as a 16 year old and I worked my way up into a regular shift with a regular line by the end of the year.”

 

Head Coach Ron Tugnutt sees Row’s contributions as a captain on a much larger scale.  “He’s a leader that’s always a team first kind of guy.” noted Tugnutt

 

“I have a great deal of respect for him because I know he has complete control of the dressing room. The piece of mind that gives me so I can focus on other important aspects of the team is important.” explained Tugnutt.

 

That’s high praise from a man who has experienced the game at the highest level and witnessed many different captains.

 

Beyond his leadership skills, his attitude and impact on the ice are equally impressive.

 

“On the ice I consider him a warrior,” said Tugnutt.  “He takes no short cuts and never gives less than everything he has. He earns his goals by paying the price and that's what makes him the leader of this team. He does whatever is called on to give us a chance to win.”

 

The rest of the players are watching that as well. 

 

A captain has to always do his best, no excuses. You work in the gym. You show up in practice. You never take a day off.

 

“He's very humble and leads by example,” said Beauparlant.” He always works hard on and off the ice. He puts 120% in everything he does.”

 

Bobby Dow considers him a great leader. “He never takes a shift off and never gives up until the last buzzer and that shows a lot of leadership”

 

Never flashy but always dependable, Row believes teams must have many different types of personalities to be successful.  “I think every team needs energy guys and the flashy guys, those are the skilled guys that have the confidence to do those skilled moves because sometimes you need those guys to put a spark in the game and it lights up the rest of your team mates as well, their confidence spreads from guy to guy and it just makes everyone play better.”

 

To understand where this work ethic, competitive nature and appreciation for people come from one simply needs to understand who his role models are and who he looks up to.

 

“There’s two people that I consider my biggest role models that have influenced my life,” noted Row.  “The first would be my Papa. He’s from Czechoslovakia and was raised during the war and all his stories about being separated from his parents for seven years during the war and traveling around from camp to camp and was lucky enough just to survive. He came over here to Canada with nothing and now is very successful as an engineer near the top of his class when he graduated and has just made a life here after so many terrible things happened to him when he was younger.”

 

“As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized how much of an impact that can have and how lucky I am to have the life I’ve had,” reflected Row. “It also made me realize if you work hard enough your past doesn’t have to stop you from being successful.”

 

“Probably my biggest role model in hockey would be my Dad,” said Row. “He’d wake me up every morning for those 6 or 7 am practices, flooding the rink in our backyard late at night when it was really cold out and never complained and always had good things to say to keep me and my brother motivated when we were on the ice.”

 

His father is a true constant in his life.

 

He rarely misses a game, logging many miles on his car travelling to watch his son.  He waits long after the game is over to breakdown what went right and what went wrong. 

 

Not pushy or over bearing.

 

“I like the honest answers I get from him,” said Row. “Anyone can sugarcoat things but I really want to know if it was a good game or if there were things I could have done better to improve.  In the end, I know what he’s saying is to help me be a better hockey player cause I know he was giving me an honest answer”.

 

“Down the road when I get to be a Dad, that’s how I’m going to do it,” proclaimed Row.

 

When asked about his favourite athlete, he didn’t look to far from home. 

 

“Probably my favourite athlete is Conlin McCabe,” said Row “A local Olympic rower, I see him at the rowing club training and I see how much determination and work he’s put in to get to where he’s been and where he’s going and all the records he set so that really made me understand how hard you have to work to achieve your goals”.

 

“I also train with Clark Flynn and he’s taught me so much and helped my work ethic,” said Row.  “I don’t think I’d have lasted this long in the league if it wasn’t for him.  He trained me and prepared me for the physical demands of the game.”

 

“I train just as hard in the season as I do in the off-season.”

 

So what does the future hold for Mr. Row?

 

“My career, I don’t really have a specific career in mind yet,” said Row. “I’m very good at math and sciences so it will probably be something with that.  Right now I’m in Biomedical Science at the University of Ottawa”

 

Wait, nice guy, smart, athletic, good-looking – I hate him - but really it’s impossible to hate him – he does everything right and helps others be better too.  I’m probably just jealous.

 

Row admits he's been fortunate. He's also had tremendous success beyond hockey.  “I was an alright rower.”   In reality, he’s an accomplished rower and has competed at a national level winning gold, silver and bronze.

 

Yet hockey was where his heart remained, but rowing helped him build perspective on teamwork and hard work.

 

“When I was younger I realized that I might not have as much skill as some other players, but nobody was going to work harder than me”

 

“That’s probably the best advice I could ever offer to anyone trying to get into this league,” stated Row. “Never stop working.  The guys that are going to try hard every shift every practice, are going to have a better chance of making their teams.  I’ve seen so many skilled guys that if they had the work ethic they could be miles ahead of anyone.  Guys who are a bit less skilled continue to develop and get better because they keep trying and also are willing to learn.”

 

As we end our conversation I ask him what he thinks his team will say about him at the end of the year as he leaves junior hockey.

 

“I hope that people will say that I worked hard and that I cared.”

 

Every team should have an Alex Row on their team.