✰ maile ✰

In 2016, Gabriel Landeskog opened up about becoming the captain of the Colorado @Avalanche at 19 years old: “Right before training camp was supposed to start, I was relaxing with some friends in Toronto when I noticed that I had a voicemail from my teammate Milan Hejduk. I wasn’t expecting a call from Milan. When I was a kid growing up in Stockholm in the early 2000s, I used to watch Milan tear it up with my hero, Peter Forsberg, on TV. When I got drafted by the Avalanche, I got to actually know him and had the pleasure of sitting right next to him the locker room. I just tried to absorb everything he did. I listened to the voicemail and Milan said, ‘Hey Gabe, let me know when you’re back in Denver, because I want to have a meeting.’ I figured it was a ‘players only’ meeting to plan out the season and what was expected of everyone. I was 19 years old and had just finished my first season in the NHL, so I was just excited to get back to Colorado and be around the guys again. When I got back to Denver a few days later, Milan texted me to tell me to meet him at the arena in the morning. When I arrived, I noticed that there weren’t many cars in the parking lot. I figured I must be early. Then I walked into the office, and the only people there were me, Milan and Joe Sacco, our coach at the time. I genuinely had no idea what was going on, so I just tried to keep a poker face. We all sat down and Milan started speaking, and I almost couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. He said, ‘You know, Gabe, my career is starting to come to an end, and I think you’re the one to take over for me as captain.’ It really came out of nowhere. I hadn’t even heard any rumblings that it was a possibility. I didn’t know what to think. After the initial shock, I was overwhelmed with feelings of pride. It was so humbling that Milan and our staff believed that I was the man for the job. They were making me the youngest captain in @NHL history [at the time]. I remember I called my dad from the parking lot right after the meeting and told him the news, and I was at a loss for words. He was just as shocked as I was. From that day on, I felt such a tremendous responsibility to live up to the bar set by former Avalanche captains like Milan, Adam Foote and Joe Sakic.” playerstribu.ne/Landeskog