University of Alberta Augustana Vikings men’s hockey team captain Dean Prpick wants to end his final season with the club and his first as captain on a winning note.

Prpick, a 25-year-old utility player who sees shifts on both offence and defence, said the Vikings have the ability to win the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) championship this year giving him and his team their fourth medal in four years. He said the club has a lot of depth, which should bode well during their long 32-game season and hopeful playoff run.

“We don’t really have any weak spots,” said Prpick, who served as an assistant captain with the team last year. “I guess our weakness is that I wouldn’t say we have that number one line or number one defenceman. Everyone is going to have to show up every night to really give us a chance.”

Prpick said he isn’t a vocal guy in the dressing room, so his plan is to lead the young team through his example on the ice. He said this is the first time that he can remember he has ever been captain before, including his time playing minor hockey with Davidson, but there are many other voices available in the room to contribute if more help is needed.

“We have a lot of leaders in our room,” he said. “It’s nice to have the ‘C’, but there are a lot of guys that could definitely have it.”

Blaine Gusdal, head coach of the Vikings, said Prpick was the right choice to lead the team onto the ice this year because he is a quality person and approaches everything as a consummate professional.

“He works extremely hard in the classroom and he’s basically been successful in any challenge that comes his way, so being a fifth-year guy and one of our top players it was a very easy choice,” said Gusdal. “It was ratified by every single guy on the team where they thought he was the perfect pick as our captain for this year.”

Gusdal said a captain is picked after the coaching staff looks at the “big picture” of what an individual brings to the whole program and not just the on-ice product. He said key players past and present are consulted as to what direction is needed in the dressing room and Prpick stood out as the guy who could best bring the Vikings, which features a few new top-end forwards from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), into contention for their second gold medal in three years this season.

“In Dean’s four years we’ve been in the final four all four years after not being in the playoffs previously,” he said. “It’s definitely been a turnaround and that is a testament to the kinds of players that we have. Dean is one of those guys and at the top of the list, so he’s been fortunate. He’s been here for four very good years and the goal right now is to make this fifth one very special.”

Prpick said it’s a “nice honour” to be named captain by his teammates and coaches, but the squad still needs to get results on the ice if it’s going to be a success. He said the good thing is everyone is fresh and excited to start a new year after their bronze medal finish last season, so the job of leading the team to another medal makes his job a little less worrisome.

“It’s much easier for me,” he said. “We definitely have the squad to win a championship this year.”