For nine years, the Minnesota Wild operated without a fixed captain.
The “C” changed hands again and again from 2000-09, before then-head coach Todd Richards named Mikko Koivu the Wild’s first full-time captain, when the stoic Finn was 26.
Koivu, now 34, has held the position ever since.
In 19-year-old prospect Luke Kunin, the Wild may have found their captain of the future.
The Wild’s first-round pick in 2016, Kunin signed with Minnesota earlier this year following his sophomore season at the University of Wisconsin, where first-year head coach Tony Granato appointed him one of the youngest captains in the program’s history.