O captain! My captain: if Walt Whitman had been the poet laureate of hockey, he might have coined his famous verse about Mark Messier, surely the greatest leader the game has ever seen - Cover Story

Hockey Digest, March, 2003 by Keith Loria

THE TEMPERATURE READS 81 DEGREES ON A typically hot July day in South Carolina, and a 55-foot sport fishing boat sits almost nondescriptly in the waters off of Hilton Head Island. Its captain, a somewhat novice fisherman, relaxes from his long, exhausting winter--one in which he battled fierce Sharks, dodged dangerous Lightning, fought strong Hurricanes, and even had a run-in with some nasty Ducks.

Those battles took place not on the high seas, but in the not-so-friendly confines of NHL arenas. And the captain was distinguished not by where he stood on the deck of his ship, but by the "C" on his uniform, which made everyone in the building understand his important role to his team.

Captain Mark Messier--six Stanley Cups, two MVP awards, 650-plus goals, 1,150-plus assists, 1,600-plus games, and a handful of top three finishes in the annual Shelter Cove King Mackerel Tournament.

While the latter achievement might not seem to be as historically important as the others, it is nevertheless a significant accomplishment in the life of Messier, as it is another success that he has worked hard to achieve.

Not that fishing could ever take the place of hockey--the sport which Messier has excelled at and is considered one of the best players ever in its history--but the Rangers' captain admits that he enjoys the challenge of fishing on the high seas almost as much as he enjoys the challenges he meets on the ice.

"It is hard to compare the two," Messier says. "I do both on such a different level that it's pretty hard to compare. Fishing is certainly an enjoyment for me.

"I really like getting out on the water. I love the adventure and the risk of being 70 miles offshore on a big boat."

When Messier first arrived in Hilton Head, he had a 31-foot unnamed boat that was nicknamed "The Iceman" by the seaman of the marina. That vessel saw its share of adventure on the waters as Messier and his crew set out on numerous fishing expeditions that led to some great fish stories.

"The Atlantic Ocean," Messier smiles, "once you're out there, you never know what you' re going to tie in to. It depends on where you go, of course. If you go far enough out, you can get into the blue water and go for mahi-mahi, tuna, sail fish, and perhaps some marlin or something like that. In closer, it's more grouper, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and things like that."

Messier has upgraded his boat and has become a Hilton Head hero in a community that before Messier arrived knew virtually nothing about hockey. He is respected by the locals for his competitive nature on the waters, just as that competitiveness has earned him the esteem and respect of those who play with and against him on the ice.

Mike Keenan, who coached Messier to his sixth Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994, calls the 41-year-old center "the greatest leader in professional sports," and no one has ever taken issue with that claim.

"In any form of competition or battle, he is the perfect leader," says longtime Rangers teammate Mike Richter, who may have played his last game in the NHL following an early-season concussion. "He leads by example. That would be true whether he was the head of a corporation, the general of an army, or a captain of a team."

Even before Messier re-signed with the Rangers this season, he showed the true nature of a captain by interrupting a deep-sea fishing trip to make recruiting calls to free agents that the Rangers targeted--most notably Bobby Holik. That call was one of the reasons Holik was anxious to become a Ranger.

"As a captain, I think it's important that the players really know who you are and what you stand for, what your beliefs are, and to be consistent in those if things are going good or things are going bad," Messier says. "You always really have to remain consistent in your beliefs and philosophy."

Although there may have been some doubt around the league as to whether Messier was really coming back to the Blueshirts, Messier and GM Glen Sather both maintain that there was never any question as to his return. Messier, though, refuses to look past 2002-03 when discussing his playing future.

"As far as how long I'm going to play, I've been committed over the last three years to just playing it one year at a time," he says. "I think I'm just going to continue to do that. I'll make my decisions come the summertime for the following year."

The captain started his 24th season on a high note, scoring two goals in the Rangers' 4-1 season-opening win against the defending Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes.

"We have a chance this year to control our own destiny," Messier said after that game. "Through training camp we worked hard on detail. I think it showed tonight. This was one of the best games we've played as a team in a long time. For the first game of the year that was an unbelievable pace."

But despite that positive note to begin the season, just as his ship rocks back and forth on the high seas, the state of the Rangers doesn't look too seaworthy these days. The Rangers, hoping to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1997, could not capitalize on their strong start. Injuries have crippled the team for much of the early part of the season--Richter, Holik, and Pavel Bure have all been out for significant time--yet Messier has been one of the team's biggest surprises, logging 19 minutes per game and scoring 12 goals in the Rangers' first 39 games. Last season Messier was limited to just 41 games--missing 38 because of a shoulder injury--and had just seven goals and 16 assists for the entire campaign.