I've been thinking about this one for a while. Used my social anthropology skills to "unpack" the situation and came up with some observations.

Every team has two kinds of leaders.

I'm not talking about the C and the As, I'm talking about the leadership roles.

There's the captain-coach, who directs the team on the ice. Drills at practice, setting lines, deciding when to pull the goalie. The captain-coach can be more captain than coach (the internal leader: "All right people, I know we can DO THIS! Let's go!") or more coach than captain (the external leader: "I want you to GET IN THERE and kick some ass!").

But the point is, the captain-coach is the on-ice team leadership. This is who people look to, who they emulate. The captain-coach is who to watch to become a better hockey player.

The other team leadership role is the captain-manager. This poor soul (oh, how I sympathize) makes sure the team has ice, that everyone is registered with the league and has a jersey... that there are enough, but not too many, skaters for each game. All the behind-the-scenes stuff.

The captain-manager makes it possible for the captain-coach to HAVE ice to do her or his leadership "thing." Because I've noticed that usually these two skill sets don't intersect. The captain-coach person is usually CLUELESS about organization, and the captain-manager is usually the person with a lot of drive but not a lot of hockey experience. (And all that excitement has to get channeled somewhere, right? I give you Exhibit A: JMS Hockey.)

It doesn't matter which one has the C or the A on the jersey; these roles don't go with a particular letter (though I was on a team once that joked about giving our treasurer neither C nor A but a $ on his jersey.). The captain-coach and the captain-manager work together--sometimes without even realizing it--to provide the team with all the background work necessary to make the hockey venue happen, and then educates and leads the team effectively once they take that ice.

Any other observations about roles in hockey team leadership?
I deliberately didn't include "enforcer" because I don't think that's a leadership position (and neither is "cherry picker").

I believe that one the fit's with in the captain/coach segment is any successful goalie. A valuable goalie communicates and "quarterbacks" not only the play around the net but the play up and down the ice. While a team may be successful without a verbal strong leading goalie they are missing something. This is something that I see as an absolute, for a goalie to be doing his or her job they have to be letting the players know what needs to happen. So if you hear me barking at you at a skate, it's not because I'm mad (most likely I'm not mad) it is because I am doing my best to keep the puck out of our net and get it into the other.

I'll agree that the goalie is a big part of the team, but communication is key from any position on the ice. As a goalie, I think the most important thing we can do is play our best and never let your team see that you're frustrated. Always put on a strong, confident front so your team can concentrate on scoring rather that worrying about you.

Captain/manager also involves captain/cheerleader, captain/babysitter, and or captain/therapist, depending on the player or group of players.

I remember my year very fondly..

Jenny, I absolutely agree that communication at all positions is important, however the goalie should be the leading voice directing the flow.

As a goalie and a captain I unfortunately have to fill both roles.

This season I've delegated more than in the past, but in the end, the brunt of the administrative things are left for me. I don't really enjoy doing it. I never ran practices though. I wasn't a skater so I couldn't really come up with effective team drills for everyone, so that was never in my control. I also relinquished control over the lines midway through the season because I really don't know what goes on over at the bench during the games, so I don't know if what I do works or doesn't and also I can't make mid game adjustments if people feel something else should be changed.

The managerial aspect is an extremely thankless job. You get none of the credit and all of the blame if things don't go right. We had a terrible season last year, and I took way too much of it personally even though I did just about everything one could do to try and turn the ship. Financially I kept the team afloat last year and lost a lot of money due to people skipping out on practices and not showing up or not getting reimbursed for things I budgeted in for others.

By the end of last season I was extremely mentally burned out and wanted nothing to do with my team for a few months just because I needed time away. Not to say I don't like my team, I love my team, otherwise I wouldn't work so hard to keep it working but I just learned you need to go about it differently once you're in the position of captain.

I also found out, and I told this to a few people on my own team, that my own personal relationship within the team dynamic had to change during the season for a number of reasons. Before taking on the role of captain I always felt like I could be just one of the guys and I put on more of the social hat I wear with my friends outside the team. I found though that I needed to keep more of an emotional separation and put on my manager hat that I wear at work and keep more of an employer/employee relationship between myself and the rest of the team in a way I didn't need to do before because otherwise people expect things and exceptions to be made because you are friends.

I know my game last season suffered as a result of taking the role on as captain. Before the game you're running around worrying about who is going to show up, who isn't how are you going to adjust lines, how can you manage everyones ice in a way they're happy with their playing time...We're short a center who's going to rotate? What wing do you want me on? Last thing you're doing is thinking about stopping the puck, and you're already mentally worn out midway through the game.

I much prefer just going on the ice and enjoy the game, and have only the game to worry about, and not line combinations, morale, finding subs for a given game etc. That's why I enjoyed summer season so much, I just showed up and played and had fun win or lose. I didn't have to worry about all that other stuff.

I understand the need for some organization when it comes to putting together a cohesive AHA team, but I doubt that grown men or women need to take the idea of an on-ice captaincy seriously in a recreational league. I believe the label has a purpose off the ice for organizational purposes though. People who communicate well and are reliable and responsible tend to fill those roles admirably. I've been fortunate to have played on a well-organized team with such individuals.