Vanstone says Raiders captaincy is his ‘biggest achievement’ in hockey

There was a little bit of foreshadowing that Vanstone would be the team’s captain this year. He wore the ‘C’ in both of the Raiders’ home exhibition games, and took the ceremonial face off in the Raiders home opener on Saturday.

One player that was glad the foreshadowing turned into a reality was Reid Gardiner. Gardiner, who’s holding onto his assistant captain’s ‘A,’ knows Vanstone as well as anybody on the team. They were drafted in the same class back in 2011, Gardiner in the first round and Vanstone in the third, and have gone up the ranks together on the Raiders.

“It means a lot. He’s been one of my buddies growing up for the last three and a bit years,” said Gardiner. “For him to get the ‘C’ is a huge honour for the organization. It shows a lot of leadership qualities that we both show and I think the team made the right choice in picking him as captain.”

Although Vanstone will have a new letter on his jersey, not much will likely change in his demeanour.

“I think it’s going to be the old Tim Vanstone everyone knows,” said Vanstone. “I’ve always been a vocal guy, I’ve always done what I needed to do to get my team that extra edge. I’m a team guy, I’ve always been a team guy. It’s team first, it always will be.

“I got a group guys behind me now and a group of guys in front of me. We’re all in the same position, we all want this team to be better. It’s just going to be exciting once Friday rolls along. We’ll be ready for the Vancouver Giants.”

The Raiders will play the Giants on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre, before hosting the Medicine Hat Tigers the night after on Saturday.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea

by Jeff D'Andrea

Vanstone says Raiders captaincy is his ‘biggest achievement’ in hockey

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