Jaycob Megna Named Team Captain
Oct 6, 2018The Gulls have named defenseman Jaycob Megna team captain. Steven Oleksy, Sam Carrick, Corey Tropp and Joseph Blandisi will serve as additional alternate captains.
“Jaycob’s positive impact and influence on his teammates and our community has earned him the right to lead our group,” said Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins. “We are privileged to have a captain who is selfless and serves others first. He is not only a role model for us but also for the great community of San Diego. Jaycob will also be well supported by a very strong group of alternate captains.”
Megna, 25 (12/10/92), who is entering his fourth AHL season with San Diego, will become the second captain in Gulls history after serving the past three seasons as an alternate captain. Megna has collected 8-48=56 points with a +53 rating and 82 penalty minutes (PIM) in 212 career AHL games with San Diego (2015-present) and Norfolk (2013-15). Megna has appeared in 178 games for San Diego since 2015, earning 7-44=51 points with a +54 rating and 76 PIM, leading the Gulls in career games played and plus/minus rating.
Selected by Anaheim in the seventh round (210th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Megna made his NHL debut in a 4-0 Ducks victory on Apr. 6, 2017 vs. Chicago, recording a +1 rating in 15:20 time-on-ice (TOI). He has appeared in 15 NHL games with Anaheim, recording one assist.
"It’s an honor and an incredible responsibility that I am proud to take on," said Megna. "I view myself as a leader both on and off the ice, and will continue to set a positive example for our hockey club and the San Diego community.”
A native of Plantation, Fla., Megna earned 5-22=27 points with a +33 rating and 37 PIM in 62 games in 2016-17, and concluded the season leading the AHL in plus/minus, while he set AHL career highs in several offensive categories, including goals, assists, points and plus/minus. The 6-6, 225-pound defenseman also played three seasons with Nebraska-Omaha of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (2011-13) and National Collegiate Hockey Conference (2013-14), earning 4-18=22 points with a +12 rating and 40 PIM in 105 games.
Oleksy, 32 (2/4/86), enters his second season as alternate captain for the Gulls after initially assuming the role for the 2017-18 season. A native of Chesterfield, Mich., Oleksy has earned 20-87=107 points with a +51 rating in 373 career AHL games with San Diego (2017-present), Toronto (2016-17), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2015-17), Hershey (2012-15) and Bridgeport (2011-12). The 5-11, 180-pound defenseman scored 7-13=20 points with a +4 rating and 66 PIM in 54 games in his ninth professional season and first with San Diego, setting AHL career highs in goals and points. Oleksy has also scored 3-17=20 points with a +17 rating in 73 career NHL contests with Pittsburgh (2016-17) and Washington (2012-15). He has also appeared in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Capitals, earning one assist with four PIM, and had a day with the Stanley Cup in Michigan on Aug. 15, 2016 after skating with Pittsburgh in the final two rounds of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Carrick, 26 (2/4/92), begins his second season as alternate captain for the Gulls after initially assuming the role for the 2017-18 season. Carrick appeared in in his sixth professional season and second with San Diego last year, earning 13-28=41 points with a +2 rating and 83 PIM. In 331 career AHL games with San Diego (2017-present), Rockford (2016-17) and Toronto (2012-16), Carrick has recorded 68-112=80 points with a +16 rating. Selected by Toronto in the fifth round (144th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft, Carrick has collected 1-1=2 points with 13 PIM in 19 career NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tropp, 29 (7/25/89), enters his third season serving as an alternate captain with the Gulls after he served as an alternate captain for two seasons (2016-17, 2017-18). A native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., Tropp has scored 75-127=202 points in 287 career AHL games with San Diego (2015-present), Albany (2015-16), Rochester (2011-13) and Portland (2010-11). Tropp leads San Diego in all-time scoring (43-65=108), goals and power-play goals (23), and ranks second in club history with 127 games played. Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round (89th overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Tropp has appeared in 149 NHL contests with Anaheim (2016-17), Columbus (2013-15) and Buffalo (2011-13), collecting 6-21=27 points with 133 PIM.
Blandisi, 24 (7/18/94), enters his first season as an alternate captain with San Diego in his second season with the organization. A native of Markham, Ontario, Blandisi earned 5-10=15 points with a +2 rating and 40 PIM in 27 games with San Diego last season. In 104 career AHL games with San Diego (2017-present), Binghamton (2017) and Albany (2015-17), Blandisi has collected 25-52=77 points. Selected by Colorado in the sixth round (162nd overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Blandisi has appeared in 71 career games with Anaheim and New Jersey, recording 8-18=26 points.