Roman Josi named Predators captain

Roman Josi stood at midfield at Nissan Stadium on Sept. 10, his Predators teammates encircling him and 69,000-plus people roaring their approval.

It felt like a coronation. The 27-year-old defenseman raised the Titans’ sword and plunged it into the turf, unofficially revealing himself as Predators captain.

At least that’s how it appeared from afar. The Predators formally introduced Josi as their seventh full-time captain Tuesday, but there was some thinly veiled symbolism in that pregame huddle.

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“We’re like, ‘All right, 'Jos.' Here you go, buddy.’ Trust me, (the sword) was handed right over to 'Jos,’” Predators center Ryan Johansen said. “He’s our leader. He’s our captain. And he’s going to guide us in the direction to be successful.”

Josi, the second Swiss-born captain in NHL history, replaces Mike Fisher, who retired last month after one season in the role.

The Predators revamped their leadership council this season, tapping defenseman Ryan Ellis as their newly created "associate captain." Johansen, forward Filip Forsberg and defenseman Mattias Ekholm will act as alternate captains. Goaltender Pekka Rinne, defenseman P.K. Subban and center Nick Bonino round out the group.

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"With regard to Roman, for me, his character as a person, a player and a teammate were the exact traits that we were looking for for our team," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.

In September 2016, Fisher succeeded Shea Weber as team captain, a no-brainer for an organization that needed someone of Fisher's experience to preside over a major transition. The ages of the five players who received letters Tuesday are 27 or younger.

It epitomizes the faith the Predators have in their young stars, who have rapidly matured with each season and franchise first together.

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“Both of those guys were the hardest-working guys every time we stepped on the ice, whether it was a practice or a game," Josi said of Weber and Fisher. "When I came up, I was 21 and Shea was the captain. You watch a guy like him, you want to follow that, you want to do the same things. That’s really important to do that as a captain, and the rest of the team will follow that.”

A lead-by-example type, Josi will have to carry on the lessons of his predecessors. His teammates are ready to listen.

"If you made up a bunch of categories that you (use to) define leadership," Ellis said, "Roman would be at the top of all of those."

Reach Adam Vingan at avingan@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamVingan.

PREDATORS TEAM CAPTAINS

Tom Fitzgerald: July 6, 1998 - March 13, 2002

Greg Johnson: Oct. 8, 2002 - June 30, 2006

Scott Walker: Jan. 12, 2003 - Jan. 27, 2003 (interim)

Kimmo Timonen: Oct. 3, 2006 - June 18, 2007

Jason Arnott: Sept. 12, 2007 - June 19, 2010

Shea Weber: July 8, 2010 - June 29, 2016

Mike Fisher: Sept. 8, 2016 - Aug. 3, 2017

Roman Josi: Sept. 19, 2017 - Present