Blake Wheeler to Wear the "C" for the Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets announced on Wednesday that they have named Blake Wheeler as the captain for the 2016-2017 National Hockey League season. 

Wheeler replaces Andrew Ladd as the Jets captain. Winnipeg dealt Ladd to the Chicago Blackhawks on February 25, right before the trade deadline, who signed with the New York Islanders this offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

Wheeler, received the honor of being named the captain on his 30^th birthday. He was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes, while they were still known as the Phoenix Coyotes, with the number five pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Wheeler cracked into the NHL, during the 2008-2009 season with the Boston Bruins as he put up 21 goals and 24 assists in 81 games during his rookie season. This past season, he led the Jets with 26 goals and 52 assists, for a career high of 78 points. 

In 615 games with the Jets, Bruins and Atlanta Thrashers he has scored 173 goals and 267 assists.

Wheeler told the Winnipeg Free Press on Tuesday, “I have always been a late bloomer. I am kind of turning into a man here. It is all coming together. We have a lot of great leaders on our team and whoever wears that letter is going to have a lot of good guys backing him up. If I get that opportunity, I will embrace it, I will be honored and I will have a lot of great guys having my back, so it is a great situation.”

Center, Mark Scheifele and defenseman, Dustin Byfuglien will help Wheeler with the leadership role in the dressing room, as the alternate captains. 

Scheifele, 23, agreed to an eight-year, 49 million-dollar deal earlier this offseason. He scored a career high 29 goals with a plus-16 rating during the 2015-2016 campaign. 

Byfuglien, 31, will be entering his seventh season with the Thrashers/Jets organization. Last season he was able to put up 19 goals and 34 assists, while patrolling the blue line for Winnipeg. He began his career with the Blackhawks, where he hoisted the Stanley Cup during the 2010 season.

Wheeler and Byfuglien will represent the United States during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which begins on September 17 and runs through October 1, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.