CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Brendon Clavelle looks at the pictures on the wall and is amazed his will be up there in due time as one of the seven players to be the full-time captain of the Charlottetown Islanders.
The list includes defencemen Ryan MacKinnon, Guillaume Brisebois and Pierre-Olivier (P.O.) Joseph, a teammate for his first 1 ½ seasons in Charlottetown.
“It’s crazy. I never thought about that my first year coming in here as an 18-year-old,” Clavelle said Tuesday at the Eastlink Centre. “P.O., Brisebois, MacKinnon – those are guys you want to be like; guys that are all playing pro now and you look up to (them).”
The Islanders recently named their leadership group for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season with Clavelle serving as captain and Thomas Casey, Brett Budgell and Nikita Alexandrov each wearing an A as assistants.
Head coach Jim Hulton sees similarities between Clavelle and Joseph in terms of their leadership.
“He’s an energy giver. He comes in everyday with a smile on his face and he’s happy to be here. It’s infectious,” he said, noting he is bilingual and treats everybody the same way without trying. “It just comes natural – it’s his personality. He’s a good kid from a good family, and everybody recognized that.”
The players voted for their captain with everyone except for Clavelle casting their ballot for him to wear the C.
“It’s a tremendous honour, especially for all the guys to vote for me like that. I take that to heart,” Clavelle said.
Captain's Club
A look at the full-time captains for the Charlottetown Islanders since the team rebranded for the 2013-14 season.
Player Season
F Jack Nevins 2013-14
D Ryan MacKinnon 2014-15
F Quinn O’Brien 2015-16
F Oliver Cooper 2015-16
D Guillaume Brisbois 2016-17
D Pierre-Olivier (P.O.) Joseph 2017-18 to 2019.
D Brendon Clavelle 2019-20
Clavelle’s story isn’t the prototypical one of a major junior captain.
He wasn’t the team’s top pick, top scorer or an NHL draft pick.
The Kapuskasing, Ont., native went to a free-agent camp ran by head coach Jim Hulton in Kingston, Ont., in the summer of 2017. They extended an invite to camp in Charlottetown.
He waked into the tryout and earned his spot on a rebuilding Islanders roster.
His game isn’t flashy, but he plays a smart, intelligent game.
After missing a month of his rookie season with a shoulder injury, Clavelle came into his own upon his return when he was paired with Hunter Drew to form a shutdown pair.
“Much like that entire team, he had this blossoming and coming-out party late in the season and, particularly, in the playoffs,” Hulton said. “I remember a couple of NHL scouts talking about how he was our best defenceman in the Quebec and Halifax series.”
Clavelle, a fun-loving player who can often been seen sharing a laugh with a teammate, said his game and demeanour won’t change with a C on his jersey as opposed to the A he wore a year ago.
“The guys voted for me to get the C for who I am. I don't think anything is going to change,” he said. “I’ve always tried to have fun playing hockey. I think it’s a fun sport and it’s something you should enjoy to do.”
And he knows he’s only one pillar in the leadership group that also includes guys like fifth-year veteran Matthew Welsh and 19-year-olds Xavier Bernard, Cedric Desruisseaux and Liam Peyton.
“I love all these guys in the room, and we have a great bond going on right now,” he said. “We have a lot of good guys that the young guys can look up to. We have a lot of good role models. It makes it real easy for me.”
He has held leadership roles prior to coming to Charlottetown and said he was fortunate to have a great role model to learn from in the Islanders dressing room.
“I learned a lot from P.O. He was a great friend to me and a great mentor to me,” he said.
And now Clavelle is helping the next crop of Islanders get their feet wet in major junior. He has been paired with 16-year-old rookie Oscar Plandowski.
“It’s been a wonderful fit. He communicates so well and in such a great way,” Hulton said, noting it is similar to last year’s pairing of Joseph with rookie Lukas Cormier.
Related link:
• Late bloomer Brendon Clavelle continues to shine
Need to know
Brendon Clavelle
Who – A six-foot, 185-pound defenceman for the Charlottetown Islanders.
Personal – A 20-year-old Kapuskasing, Ont., native.
Parents – Marc Clavelle and Chantal Lepage.
Statistics
Season GP G A Pts.
2017-18 56 0 7 7
2018-19 68 4 17 21
2019-20 4 0 0 0
