Chiefs’ Captain Gillam Puts Experience To Work

Everybody wants the status.

Not everybody would welcome the job.

Captain.

The up side of it is the prestige, on the demanding side rests the responsibility.

The captain shares in the consequences, not just the rewards.

As captain of the Spokane Chiefs, Sean Gillam puts four seasons of Western Hockey League experience to work as the go-between.

Nobody confers with the referee, with players and coaches with quite the same latitude. Captaincy in a hockey program goes beyond the ceremonial limitations of other sports.

A player has to grow into this role.

Gillam has become the link to both sides of the room, the conduit who keeps the coach in touch.

When it breaks down he takes the hit.

“When our team is not prepared to play I look at myself No. 1,” Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said. “No. 2, I look at my captain. My captains (Gillam, and the Chiefs’ assistant captains, Jay Bertsch and Jason Podollan) control the dressing room. I’m not in their all the time. It’s their job to make sure we’re preparing mentally.

“I go after them hard when we’re not ready.”

The trick is to grow up without changing. If that’s an impossibility, it’s what the ideal captain does - opens up to the coach without shutting out his teammates.

It’s a balancing act. Adults in one ear, friends in the other. It’s fun and work.

The constant is respect. Lose it from either side and it’s over.

Beyond ability - a captain has to lead by example - the prime requisite is verbal skill, knowing when to speak up and when to shut up, understanding that silence can be as moving as a stream of words.

“I’ve taken bits and pieces from the captains who were here in my four seasons but I’m not really like any one of them,” he said.

Paxton Schulte. Ryan Duthie. Bryan McCabe. Kevin Sawyer.

They wore the C before Gillam inherited it this season.

Duthie never said much, preferring to lead by example.

Sawyer was a physical presence who commanded respect.

McCabe worked up enthusiasm by doing it all on the ice.

Gillam has taken what examples he can and added his own touch.

“Sean is our captain because of his commitment,” Babcock said. “He’s also our captain because of his ability to deal with the guys. Maybe most important, he plays best when it counts most.”

Gillam is quick to point out that the experience on this year’s 10-4 club makes his job easier.

“There’s a different style to our game this year,” he said. “It’s amazing what happens when you get 20 guys back. We have so much more talent - I shouldn’t say talent, it’s more confidence. More guys know what they’re doing.

“Last year all we did was dump the puck in and go hammer somebody. This year we have four lines that can skate, move the puck and score. Now we can do more things and be more exciting.

“Pods, Bertsch, Sinks, Mags - they get the guys ready, too,” Gillam added, referring to veterans Podllan, Bertsch, Darren Sinclair and Adam Magarrell. “With almost everyone back it didn’t take us that long to come together as a team.

“We only have three new guys in the lineup. It’s almost like a tight-knit family.”

As in a tight family, roles are defined and adhered to.

“That means the onus is on everybody to be accountable,” Babcock said. “We don’t pass the buck.”

If the buck stops in the coach’s office it often passes through the captain’s hands.

“Lots of times being captain isn’t fun,” Babcock said. “There are times when you want to take the day off and you can’t because you have to challenge other people to be better. It’s a prestigious thing to be captain of a Western Hockey League team, and it’s a huge responsibility.”

One responsibility puts Gillam in touch with the referee on the ice, often while thousands of voices are being raised. He tries not to waste the privilege of being the person in the place with the ref’s ear.

“When I’m talking to them, I’m usually trying to get their interpretation of a call so I can give it to Mike,” Gillam said. “Or if Mike has something to say to them, I’m kind of a relay man back and forth.

“The referees handle it really well in this league. I think they understand the heat of the moment, that sometimes when your emotions are running high you say a lot of things you don’t mean.

“They’re pretty good about it. Sometimes they let you get away with a bit more than they should. I’ve stepped over the line once or twice and they’ve let it go.

The good captain is a good politician. An athlete might not take that as a compliment, but nothing is above politics.

“Different officials have different pressure points and tolerance levels,” Gillam said. “Once you get to know them, you get to know what you can get away with.”

There’s a big-brother role as well.

“You’re always trying to help younger guys,” Gillam said. “It’s tough coming in here at 16 and 17. If I can help out I try, but a lot of times they don’t really take it as advice, they take it as criticism.

“I try to make it constructive.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo