With the new season right around the corner, fans are starting to wonder who will be given captaincy after Bernier’s retirement. An interesting name that has been floating around is Samuel Piette. While a lot of people are hesitant to see this as a good idea because of his youth, there are many qualities that make him an excellent candidate.

Piette is only twenty-three years of age but he remains a player with a lot of experience. He started his career in Europe with the youth club of FC Metz in 2009 at only fifteen. From there he went to play with Fortuna Düsseldorf youth club from 2012 to 2013 and their senior club from 2013 to 2014. At the end of 2014 he joined Deportivo B until 2016 (he was on loan with Racing de Ferrol from 2015-2016). Finally his last year in Europe (2016-2017 season) was with Izarra before joining the Montreal Impact. During his time in Europe he played in three different countries (three different leagues) and five different cities adding a lot of experience to his young career.

One advantage that he has gained from his time overseas is learning different languages. Given that the Impact has players like Vargas, who don’t speak anything but Spanish, Piette is able to communicate with every single on the team player.

Piette is also not afraid to be vocal with the media. A big part of the role of a captain is being able to communicate with the media effectively and pass the right message. Piette is able to answer questions adequately and get the team message across to the media and fans. He was actually asked how he would feel to step up into that leadership role. Piette explained to the media that he feels like he is playing an important role for the team. He considers himself somewhat of a veteran given that he is from the city and has quite a bit of experience even though he is young. He feels a connection with a lot of the players given the history he does have with some from the Canadian Men’s national team members and those from the academy that he crossed paths with at some point. He displayed a lot of confidence and determination in his interviews during the preseason, either it be when he was discussing himself or the team.

On the pitch, from the time we were able to see him play last season, Piette isn’t afraid to be vocal and direct players when he needs to. He has great game vision which is an important aspect of someone who needs to lead his team. A fan favorite aspect of Piette is his resiliency, he does not give up on a play and does everything he can to do his job. No matter the day or meaning behind a game, Piette will always be giving his all on the pitch every single time.

While it may not be today that he is the captain of the Montreal Impact it will likely happen one day; fans will have to wait to see what happens between now and the beginning of the season. The hometown boy is proud to be back and is hopefully here to say and build his legacy with the Impact.