The captain of your 2023-24 Portage Terriers is Tayem Gislason.
The defenceman arrived in Portage midway through last season after playing 16 games in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels and Prince Albert Raiders. Gislason had 14 points in 32 regular season games last year and put up four points in five games at the Centennial Cup.
"I was pretty excited. It's pretty cool to be the captain," Gislason continues. "There's such a history behind this team, so it's really exciting to be a part of that and be a leader on this team."
Gislason played an entire season in Prince Albert in 2021-22, scoring twelve points in 62 games. In total, the Winnipegger played 101 WHL games between the 2020-21 season and the 2022-23 season. He believes this experience will help him to lead this Terrier squad on another deep playoff run.
Gislason likes to lead by example but knows when to speak up.
"I like to mix it up and do a little bit of both. When I need to say something, I like to say it, but we also have guys like Slade (Stanick) and Aus (Austin McLean) and other guys in the room to speak up, too. So, it's not just me."
The Terriers also named three assistant captains for the season, all returning players: Slade Stanick, Daniel Siso, and Austin McLean.
Portage picked up their first win on Sunday, and Gislason says it was very encouraging to see what this new team is capable of.
"It felt really, really good. Everyone was ready to go," Gislason explains. "We had some nerves in the first period, but we got those out early. I think everyone sees how great of a place this is to play now. We had a lot of guys doing their job: blocking shots and chipping pucks. Everyone wanted to win, and we did what we had to do."
Gislason and the rest of the Terriers will be back in action Thursday as they travel to Steinbach for a battle with the defending champion Pistons. The Dogs will return home Friday to take on the Dauphin Kings.