Atlanta Thrashers Announce 2009-10 Team Captains

[VodkaFish]

Kovalchuk Returns as Captain; Bogosian and Hainsey join Armstrong and Kozlov as Alternates

The Atlanta Thrashers have announced their captains for the 2009-10 season. Ilya Kovalchuk, who was named Captain on Jan. 11, 2009, will begin his first full season in that role. Forwards Colby Armstrong and Vyacheslav Kozlov return as Alternate Captains and are joined by defensemen Zach Bogosian and Ron Hainsey.

Kovalchuk, selected first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, enters his eighth NHL season with 557 career-points (297 goals, 260 assists) in 545 NHL games, including 105 career power play goals and 37 career game-winning goals. The three-time NHL All-Star holds multiple franchise records, including goals (297), games played (545) assists (260) and shots on goal (1,999).

Bogosian, who was selected fourth overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, tallied 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 47 games last season. He led the NHL rookie defensemen with nine goals and finished third overall in points among rookies, despite missing significant time due to injury. He also finished the season with a rookie-leading plus-11 rating.

Hainsey signed with the Thrashers in July 2008 and set career-highs in assists (33) and points (39) in 81 games last season. He has tallied 124 points (26 goals, 98 assists) in 326 NHL games with the Canadiens, Blue Jackets and Thrashers.

Kozlov is a 17-year NHL veteran with two Stanley Cup Championships with the Detroit Red Wings. He has registered 827 points (348 goals, 479 assists) in 1,127 NHL games with the Red Wings, Sabres and Thrashers. Since coming to Atlanta on June 22, 2002, Kozlov has appeared in 482 games with the Thrashers, tallying 390 points (137 goals, 253 assists).

Since joining the Thrashers on Feb. 26, 2008 in a trade with Pittsburgh, Armstrong has tallied 51 points (26 goals, 25 assists) in 100 games. Armstrong set a career-high last season with 22 goals and matched his career-high in points with 40. He has appeared in five playoff games, all with Pittsburgh, and recorded one assist.