The 2026-27 NHL season is coming closer, and many teams are making important leadership decisions. Right now, 10 NHL teams do not have a captain.

The Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and New York Islanders are among the most interesting cases because they are all built around young Canadian stars. Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, and Matthew Schaefer have already shown they can become franchise leaders, even at a young age.

These three players could be part of Hockey Canada’s next generation of stars. All three have a chance to become team captains this season. Their teams are looking for new leaders, and each franchise appears ready to build its future around these young talents.

A report by Andre Leal of The Hockey News says Bedard looks like the easiest choice for the Blackhawks after the team traded longtime captain Nick Foligno to the Minnesota Wild at the 2026 trade deadline. 

The 21-year-old already wore an alternate captain’s “A” last season and has become the clear face of Chicago’s rebuild. Even though shoulder surgery will keep him out for the first few weeks of the season, it is not expected to affect his future as a leader.

Celebrini also has a strong case to become captain in San Jose. The 20-year-old had an amazing rookie season, scoring 45 goals and 115 points. He finished as a Ted Lindsay Award finalist and placed fourth in Hart Trophy voting. 

Celebrini also helped Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, scoring five goals and 10 points. Logan Couture is still the Sharks captain while recovering from an injury, but questions about his future have increased talks about a possible change in leadership.

Matthew Schaefer Could Make NHL History

The same report by Andre Leal from The Hockey News also named Matthew Schaefer as another strong captaincy option before his second NHL season.

After Anders Lee left the Islanders for the Utah Mammoth in free agency, New York now has a captaincy opening. This could give the young defenseman a chance to make NHL history.

If Schaefer becomes captain before the season starts on Sept. 29, he would become the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 24 days old. He would break Connor McDavid’s record.

This shows how much confidence the Islanders have in Schaefer after he won the Calder Trophy and proved himself as the first overall pick.

Each team has a different reason for needing a new captain, but the bigger story is the same. Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, and Matthew Schaefer have become three of Canada’s biggest young NHL stars. Making them captains would start a new leadership era for their teams and Hockey Canada.

With three rebuilding teams trusting their young stars, these captaincy decisions could impact the NHL for many years.

What do you think? Which of these three Canadian stars do you think is most likely to become the NHL's next great captain? Let us know in the comments. 

Read more at the NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Kapil Manghnani brings over 4.5 years of experience in sports journalism, covering a wide range of sports, including Soccer, NHL, Tennis, Gymnastics, NASCAR, Swimming, and more. He has written for leading sports platforms, producing everything from breaking news and features to in-depth analysis, opinion pieces, long-form stories, and short-form content. Beyond articles, he has also scripted long-form storytelling videos for YouTube channels. His work focuses on delivering well-researched, engaging, and reader-first sports content across multiple formats.

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Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi