Captain's 'C' goes to Gaborik for first time in Wild career

Carlos Gonzalez, Jm - Star Tribune

Teammates cheered the selection of Marian Gaborik as the Wild’s captain for March. It will be his first stint as the team captain.

The All-Star forward will serve as the team captain for March.

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: March 1, 2008 - 11:57 PM

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Mike Ramsey is still recovering from eye surgery, but he had to be there. He's a Wild assistant coach, and one of his jobs every month is to anoint the new team captain.

So that was the first cheer heard at Saturday's practice -- the players seeing Ramsey for the first time since his surgery to repair a detached retina in his right eye.

So, with the players gathered around, Ramsey smiled, made a brief speech and then threw a Wild jersey with a big 'C' stitched on it to Marian Gaborik.

That brought the second cheer. And applause. And the feeling that it was not only about time but the right time. With his teammates cheering, he pulled the sweater over his practice jersey and did a lap around the rink at Parade Ice Garden as his teammates applauded.

Gaborik, the only player who has been with the team since its inception, now enters his first month as captain.

"Of course it is an honor," Gaborik said. "Especially since I've been here from the beginning. This is a good feeling. I was surprised, of course."

It probably shouldn't have been. That Gaborik is once again leading the Wild in scoring with 64 points is not surprising, nor that he is a team-high plus-11. But coach Jacques Lemaire has seen things in recent months that made the decision easy for him.

"He's playing more of a team game right now,'' Lemaire said. "Last couple of months he's an example. He wants to do things other than scoring goals. He still wants to score goals, which is great. But he's doing other things. You know, he used to get really upset when things were not going well. Now he can manage that. His focus is more on the game."

As an example Lemaire pointed to the game in Tampa on Wednesday. Gaborik had two breakaway chances foiled but never lost his focus.

"He was upset, but not like before," Lemaire said. "He just kept playing. It shows that he's turned out to be a good example. So that's what we're looking for."

It's clear the Wild is also looking for a confident Gaborik to lead them into the playoffs, and then in the playoffs. It appears Gaborik can hardly wait.

"It is a responsibility to be a leader," he said. "You want to go out there and work hard and help the team to win, in any way. I will accept that responsibility."

Said Brian Rolston: "There is no question he deserves it. He's been our most consistent player. And I'm happy he's the captain."

From a distance

After doling out the captain's sweater, Ramsey watched practice from the stands. He hopes to be able to get back behind the bench in a week or so, but he won't be able to travel for another two or three weeks.

For today's game Ramsey will watch the game alongside GM Doug Risebrough at the press box level. Ramsey had to be immobile for a week following the surgery, time he spent face down on a massage table. After that he watched games, keeping in constant contact with video coach Matt Shaw.

Ramsey said he first started noticing a problem with his eye during the Wild's road game Feb. 12 at Edmonton. Then, during the Feb. 17 home game with Nashville, it got worse. "It was like somebody kept pulling a shade over the eye, it would come and go,"' he said.

Etc.

• Derek Boogaard's back has improved to the point where he was able to skate with the team for about half of practice Saturday, a milestone he had been yearning to reach. "It was probably the best day of my year so far," he said. Boogaard said he still hopes to be ready to play before the regular season ends.

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