FEATURE: Hodnett Named 16th Captain, Oil Kings Announce Leadership Group
Edmonton, Alta. – The Edmonton Oil Kings announced their 2024/2025 leadership group today, including the team’s 16th Captain in history.
Gavin Hodnett has been named the Captain, and he is joined by Alternate Captains; forward Marshall Finnie, forward Gracyn Sawchyn, and defenceman Josh Mori. Combined, the group of four has 547 regular season WHL games under their belt, as well as 54 games of playoff experience in the league.
“It’s an exciting day for our organization in naming Gavin, a player drafted and developed here, as the next Oil Kings captain,” said Head Coach Luke Pierce. “Gavin has continued to develop his leadership skills much like the growth we’ve seen in his on-ice performance. His persistence in the face of adversity serves as a great marker for all to follow. We are confident that Josh, Marshall, and Gracyn will compliment Gavin to give us a formidable leadership dynamic this season. The depth of our leadership abilities, extending beyond these four players, is a significant strength of this year’s team and I look forward to working alongside them all.”
Hodnett, the 2006-born forward out of Winnipeg, Man., was originally the 19th overall selection of the Oil Kings in the 2021 WHL Entry Draft. He joined the Oil Kings during the 2022 WHL Championship run as an affiliate player, and played in one playoff game that year. Through 132 regular season games, Hodnett has 37 goals and 84 assists for 121 points, and he has led the team in scoring the last two seasons and could become the first Oil King in franchise history to lead the team in three consecutive years.
Finnie, the 20-year-old Lethbridge, Alta. product, keeps an ‘A’ on his chest this season after he was one of four Alternates last season. Finnie came to the Oil Kings as an undrafted camp invite back in 2022 and signed a Scholarship and Development Agreement on September 7, 2022. Since then, Finnie has played in 134 games, scoring 29 goals and adding 35 assists for 64 points.
Sawchyn was originally the first overall selection in the 2020 WHL U.S. Prospects Draft by the Seattle Thunderbirds and was traded to the Oil Kings in December of the last season. The Grande Prairie, Alta. product has produced at over a point-per-game in his career in the WHL, tallying 123 points in 114 games, including 44 points in 39 games as an Oil King. Sawchyn was also a member of the 2023 WHL Champion Thunderbirds as well, tallying 11 points in 17 playoff games, and playing in five games at the Memorial Cup that year.
Mori, the lone newcomer to the team in the leadership group, joined the Oil Kings via trade in May from the Portland Winterhawks. Originally an eighth-round pick by the Winterhawks in 2020, Mori played 162 games for Portland in the regular season, tallying 34 points. He also played in three playoffs for Portland, appearing in 36 post-season games. Mori, out of Richmond, B.C., already has two assists in five games as an Oil King.
Hodnett and the rest of the leadership group will debut their letters on Saturday afternoon when the Oil Kings host the Red Deer Rebels at 2 p.m.
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