Russia chose a veteran forward to wear the “C” at the Sochi Olympics.
“We have a candidate for the team’s captain who was agreed upon unanimously by the coaching staff -– it is Pavel Datsyuk,” Russia coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov said Wednesday, according to R-Sport.
Datsyuk, 35, is set to compete in his fourth Olympics. The Detroit Red Wings alternate captain helped Russia to bronze in 2002, but it did not win a medal in 2006 or 2010.
He succeeds Aleksey Morozov as Russia’s Olympic hockey captain. Morozov, 36, is not on the Olympic Team this year.
Other candidates were thought to be Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and former NHL player Ilya Kovalchuk, who were alternate captains in 2010.
Kovalchuk didn’t consider the captaincy all that big of a deal.
“A patch on your chest means nothing,” Kovalchuk said, according to R-Sport. “To win at the Olympics, everyone in our team must be a captain.”