There's a reason Bisons sophomore forward Jonny Hooker has donned the 'C' for two different teams in the last three years. He embodies all of the ideal qualities needed for a captain, doing so with class and professionalism.
 
"First and foremost, to be a leader, you have to be a really good person. You have to exemplify the spirit of your team," Hooker said.
 
"Secondly, you have to do the little things. You don't have to do anything crazy, you just have to lead your team by example and work with people to make them better. Your goal as a leader is how can I make the team better? That's what I've tried to do."
 
In 2021-22, Hooker earned the captaincy for the Prince George Cougars in the WHL. The veteran also wore an 'A' the year prior, a statement of trust from an organization that he was in his first full season with at the time.
 
Overall, Hooker played a combined 229 regular season games in the 'dub. He had the rare honour of playing for Brandon – the team that drafted him – as a 16-year-old, and it was off to the races from there.
 
Hooker played in 40 games his rookie year, becoming the first eighth-round pick to earn a roster spot with Brandon at age 16 since Daniel Tetrault in 1994.
 
"It's pretty cool. At the time it didn't really bother me at all. I was just trying to make the team. That was the only thing I was concerned about. I talked to the General Manger and he said I had a chance to make it, and that was really the only thing that mattered to me," recalled the 22-year-old.
 
"It meant a lot. In the WHL you're drafted very early when you're very young, and then you have a year after that when you're in midget where you can't play, so there's kind of a year removed. I had a very good year my midget year. That was maybe a prove-it year. I thought I had improved my game and had shown I could play at that level. Making the Wheat Kings was proof of that."
 
Hooker scored 42 points, including 30 goals in 30 regular season games his midget season. He carried that success to the WHL, where he had double-digit point totals both seasons he played in Prince George (traded from Brandon during 2019-20 season), and 75 overall at the major junior level.
 
A student of the game and consummate teammate, Hooker's played with well over a dozen athletes currently in the NHL.
 
Notably, he lived with 18-year-old Riley Heidt – a second-round NHL draft pick by Minnesota in 2023 – during the Saskatoon native's first year in the WHL (the bubble season of 2020-21), and he learned from 2016 NHL Draft pick Tanner Kaspick, who was captain in Hooker's first year with Brandon.
 
In his first two seasons in Brandon (where he grew up when he was younger), he was a teammate of 100-point scorer Ty Lewis (AHL, ECHL veteran) as well as former captain Stelio Mattheos, who had at least 90 points from 2017-19 and was drafted in 2017 by Carolina.
 
Watching and learning from older veterans like Lewis and Mattheos helped Hooker obtain more tools in his "toolkit," including special teams tactics.
 
This season, Hooker's seven power play goals are the second most in the Canada West conference, which is no coincidence.
 
"Stelio was always lethal on the power play, and I liked watching him. Getting older I got to play some power play in the WHL and there's always learning curves to that. You learn how to play different positions on the power play. One thing is getting quick shots off, finding soft spots," he said.
 
"On the power play it's a game of inches. It's not huge adjustments, but you have to know what to do and where to be and you have to work with your teammates. That's why it's so important to have guys like [defenceman] Chase [Hartje] on our power play and [forwards] Dylan [Thiessen] and [Colton] Veloso and others."
 
Hooker's ten goals this season lead the Bisons and are a career high in his U SPORTS career. That total is also the eighth-most by any Bisons forward since 2001-02.
 
It's not without the help of the teammates Hooker noted, with Hartje playing a particularly key role.
 
The offensive defenceman and former teammate of Hooker in Brandon, is Manitoba's power play quarterback, often credited with the primary assist on Hooker's goals. The pair are very difficult to contain with open space in the offensive zone, due to Hartje's vision and Hooker's lethal one-timer.
 
"Chase is a very smart player back there, and he thinks the game well. A lot of times what allows me to get that shot off, and what maybe goes unrecognized, is him moving that defenceman over two feet with his eyes with a shot fake. That allows me to get a clean shot off. Without him, a lot of the stuff I'm able to do wouldn't happen."
 
Hooker and Hartje connected for one of the Herd's more memorable goals on November 24. The former's power play marker in overtime against No. 6 nationally ranked Alberta gave a young Bisons squad their second win of the year, and was seen by many as a major upset.
 
Hooker and company, however, didn't see it that way. Steadily building, they've been in four different one-goal games, and can "be successful with anyone in our league."
 
"I think we were confident. This year has been a little bit trying at times. We have been in a lot of close games. We took UBC to overtime, we had close games with Calgary. We knew we could play with anyone really. The overtime winner was very nice. I was very excited. It was good for the team morale, because we had worked so hard. It was nice to get results."