How Do You Like Me Now?

Country singer Toby Keith wrote a song called 'How do you like me now'.
If Kelowna Rockets forward James McEwan could play a guitar, loved country music and could ascend to the top of the Key Arena in Seattle, those words may have come out of his mouth today. McEwan, left for dead when the T-Birds told him after the 2005-2006 season he wasn't worth a spot on the teams roster, is now sitting pretty as the leader of a WHL team. That team is the one he joined in the fall of 2006 on a tryout, and did everything in his power to hang onto a dream of playing in the WHL. Not only did McEwan prove to the Rockets that he could contribute last season with his fists and overall hustle, he had a leadership mentality that made management reconsider his worth to the team as a potential returning twenty year-old. He wasn't the fastest skater, he wasn't a play maker, and he struggled putting the puck in the net. But consistently night in and night out, McEwan gave it all he had when it looked like others had waved the white flag of surrender.
"As a little boy, James grew up watching the Rockets, always wanted to be a Rocket, and now his dream has been fulfilled." That's a quote from an excited Brenda McEwan (James mom), who I spoke with Tuesday afternoon while doing an interview on a feature that we'll be running this hockey season on Rockets radio broadcasts called 'The Parent's Perspective'. Brenda was likely as proud of James as she was when he was named the unsung hero at last years Rockets awards banquet . Brenda noted that James may call Kelowna home, but he was born in Terrace BC and moved to K-Town when he was 11. Much was made at Tuesday's news conference that McEwan is the 4th player from Kelowna named as the captain of the hockey club. That is partially true, yet Josh Gorges, Jason Deleurme and Chris Ray were born in Kelowna while McEwan's birth certificate states otherwise.
Like Chris Ray before him, McEwan will have the tough task of leading a team which remains wet behind the years. Sure he can lead by example or yell in the face of a teammate if he isn't pulling his weight, but McEwan's assistant's will also have to play a pro-active role in setting the tone early. If you don't want to work, you'll find several people getting in your face outside of the coaches and McEwan. Luke Schenn, Colin Long and Colin Joe were named those assistant captains, and all three should use that 'A' on their shoulder to the teams advantage, not their own. McEwan and his three assistants will find out early that they often times won't win popularity contests with their teammates with that in your face style. Yet the last time I checked, no teammate of Ryan Cuthbert had a bad thing to say about a captain who called out a teammate, led by example on the ice and was instrumental in helping his team capture the franchises first ever WHL championship. In fact McEwan has many of the same characteristics as Cuthbert, as both compete no matter what the score. Whether McEwan is willing to get in the face of his peers like Cuthbert did, is yet to be seen.