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Flyers Notes: Flyers name Claude Giroux captain

The player known to his teammates as "G" will wear the "C." Star center Claude Giroux was named the 19th captain in Flyers history, the club announced Tuesday night. Giroux, 25, replaces the injured Chris Pronger, whose career is likely over because of post-concussion syndrome.

Star center Claude Giroux was named the 19th captain in Flyers history, the club announced Tuesday night. (Tom Mihalek/AP)
Star center Claude Giroux was named the 19th captain in Flyers history, the club announced Tuesday night. (Tom Mihalek/AP)Read more

The player known to his teammates as "G" will wear the "C."

Star center Claude Giroux was named the 19th captain in Flyers history, the club announced Tuesday night. Giroux, 25, replaces the injured Chris Pronger, whose career is likely over because of post-concussion syndrome.

All week, players, coaches, and management types took turns praising Giroux's leadership and saying he was ready to assume the captain's role, so it became a foregone conclusion before the team made the announcement.

"He's the obvious choice," general manager Paul Holmgren said. "He's very well-liked and well-respected by all his teammates and clearly our best player. He's a deserving guy."

Holmgren said he told Giroux a few days earlier that he was the captain. Giroux's reaction?

"He's a tough guy to read. He had no reaction," Holmgren said. "He's all business."

Giroux played coy with reporters several hours earlier and did not disclose he had already been named captain.

"Obviously it would be a great honor," he said.

Later ,Giroux said that "being named captain is not really going to change the way I play on the ice and act off the ice."

Giroux, who will start his fifth year with the Flyers, scored 28 goals and collected 93 points last season, and his relentless style was unmatched. It was never more evident than in the first-round playoff series against Pittsburgh.

"After all the changes we made last year," said Holmgren, referring to trades of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, "he really stepped up and had his best year. He's a leader and he's been surrounded by leaders." He mentioned Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Danny Briere, and Richards.

Coach Peter Laviolette said Giroux has matured "and developed both on and off the ice. He's ready to lead and we know we have a strong leadership group behind him."

Laviolette praised Giroux for "the way he plays the game, the way he attacks the game. This is his time right now."

Tweeted Flyers forward Brayden Schenn: "Congrats to @28CGiroux on being named Flyers Captain. Now u have to feed both Schenns at ur Captains dinner."

The Flyers also announced that Timonen would serve as associate captain and Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell would be alternate captains.

Briere update

Briere, 35, skated for the first time since the lockout ended, joining his teammates at Tuesday's practice in Voorhees in a noncontact yellow jersey. He said he would miss the first two games as his left wrist heals from a hairline fracture.

"I wasn't able to shoot the puck very hard yet. I wasn't even supposed to shoot the puck - doctor's orders - so please don't show any clips of that," Briere said with a smile.

SRO practice

The arena will be filled when the Flyers practice at the Wells Fargo Center Thursday at 6 p.m. All the tickets to the free event have been distributed to close to 20,000 fans.

Rookie watch

Teams need to set their 23-man rosters by 3 p.m. Friday, and forwards Scott Laughton and Tye McGinn are impressing Laviolette.

"Both have come in here and seem to fit in. You really can't tell that one [McGinn] is up from the minors with no NHL experience and one's from junior," Laviolette said. "They've looked really strong with their skating and their puck battles and their puck movement."