The Captains
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There have been a number of players who have worn the ‘C’ for the Giants, be it in stand in situations or at the start of a season while the coach selected his man, but below are the official captains of the team and who lead the team throughout a season.
2000/2001 - Jeff Hoad
2001/2002 - Jeff Hoad
2002/2003 - Paul Kruse
2003/2004 - Jason Ruff
2004/2005 - Shane Johnson
2005/2006 - George Awada
2006/2007 - George Awada
2007/2008 - George Awada
2008/2009 - George Awada
Jeff Hoad
The first ever captain of the Belfast Giants ‘Hoady’ was the only captain to date to captain the team for more than one season. In his second year with the Giants he lead them to the league championship crown before deciding to move to Germany to continue his hockey playing. In his two years as Giants Captain Jeff played in all 115 games where he picked up 38 goals and 45 assists for 83 points. He also recorded 116 penalty minutes along the way.
| Team Record as Captain (competitive games only) |
GP W L OT T PTS GF GA +/- 115 62 35 9 9 142 391 339 +52
Paul Kruse
Kruse signed for the Giants from the Sheffield Steelers where the previous season he was public enemy number one after his great fight with Giants fan favourite Paxton Schulte. He soon won the fans over for his aggressive hard hitting, no nonsense style and after a few players had had a turn with the ‘C’ on their chest it was pretty obvious who Coach Dave Whistle would pick to be his full-time leader. Kruse’s leadership skills where second to none and he lead the Giants through the playoffs, into the final four and all the way to the championship - the only captain in the Giants to date to do this. He played 59 games where he scored 11 goals, 29 assist and 40 points with 130 penalty minutes to boot.
| Team Record as Captain (competitive games only) |
GP W L OT T PTS GF GA +/- 64 38 17 1 8 85 223 147 +76
Jason Ruff
As a familiar face took over as head coach, so a familiar face came back to the team. New coach Rob Stewart promptly named Jason Ruff as his captain and few fans would argue with it. Ruff had spent the 01-02 season with the Giants and helped them win the league as he became known as one of the Giants best players. His leadership was invaluable in the new Elite league as he mentored the young British and Belfast boys the Giants had taken on into players for the future for Belfast. Although the team struggled at times during the year they often found Jason Ruff carrying them through games. In 58 league and playoff games Ruff put up a staggering 38 goals and 56 assists for 94 points. He also totalled 140 penalty minutes as he lead with his scoring and his physical play. Many fans to this day still regard him as the best ever Giants player and one of the best ever captains.
| Team Record as Captain (competitive games only) |
GP W L OT T PTS GF GA +/- 62 27 26 2 7 63 228 207 +21
Shane Johnson
A new season seen a new coach and an overhaul of players, however some familiar faces remained including Shane Johnson who had been with the team since day one in 2000. He had seen three great captains before him and after playing 238 career games for the Giants his leadership, knowledge of the league and the team made him an obvious choice for captain. Shane, who normally as a defenseman for the team played on the left-wing that year helped the team to second place in the league and put up his best numbers as a Giants player with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points in 53 games played in all contests. They fell short yet again in the playoffs but with a large set of new players in place it certainly was promising for the future.
| Team Record as Captain (competitive games only) |
GP W L OT T PTS GF GA +/- 58 31 15 2 10 74 184 131 +53
George Awada
George has captained the Giants team more than anyone else in team history both in games played as well as in seasons. He has been with the Giants for five years now, four as captain, and is firmly a fan favourite. His work man like attitude and never say die style of play as endeared him to the Giants fans and it’s exactly the approach the fans look for in their captain. Always able to put the puck in the net it’s George, more often than not, who comes up with the big goal when it’s needed at the most important of times.
| Team Record as Captain (competitive games only not including 08-09) |
GP W L OT T PTS GF GA +/- 172 103 54 8 7 241 607 468 +139
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