Content Provided By: Steinbach Online
The Steinbach Pistons have announced that Sam Noad has been named captain for the 2025/26 season.
The right person for the role
“Big news, we were excited to announce that Sam will be serving as our captain this year,” head coach Paul Dyck said proudly. “He’s very deserving of this, and over the last two years, we feel like it’s been leading to this point for him. I think he’s going to provide some really strong leadership for us, largely by the person he is just on a daily basis, how he plays the game, and how he prepares every day, resulting in such consistency day in, and day out.”
What the “C” means
“Obviously, it’s a huge honour,” the 20-year-old Noad says with a humble smile. “I was kind of at a loss for words when Paul told me that I was going to be captain. I’m very honoured and grateful for the opportunity. Being a part of a team and organization like Steinbach, it’s an honour within itself. Being chosen to be a leader of a group of guys that are all brought in for the same purpose, and play for a team that has amazing support from fans, volunteers, and everyone in the community, it’s a huge honour to be given that role, and it’s not thing I take likely.”
Learning from the past
As he sets to embark on his third season with the Pistons, Noad, who wore an ‘A’ last year, says he has learned from some incredible people throughout his time in Steinbach, and it will help shape him as the leader. “The last two seasons, I’ve been lucky to play with some amazing players, people, and leaders. Right from when I was 18-years-old, I was able to be around guys like Leo Chambers, Kirk Mullen, Parker Jasper, Dave Cote, Hunter Degelman, guys that have huge passion for the game, love playing the game, and have huge passion for Steinbach. If you ask any of them, I’d bet they’d say there was no place they’d rather have played junior hockey. Having gotten to witness them, especially as they went through their 20-year-old seasons, the same situation that I am now going in, it’s big for me. I’ll try to take as much from them, their leaderships style, the way they brought us all together, and build on that. Being a part of last years leaderships group, seeing how Noah Szabo brought the group together, how guys like Jamie Fuchs and Spencer Penner carried themselves as examples as people and players, the level of maturity they brought to the rink every day, I plan to continue that.
Shaping team identity
Naming Noad the captain before camp gives him time to get a bit settled in, but also, Dyck says it helps set the tone for the team identity, something he believes is molded by the leader on the ice, and in the room. “No question, I think captains have the ability to shape things. It’s a collective effort with the leadership group, but there’s usually a reason that one player is wearing the ‘C’. In Sam’s case, we’ve identified him as an ‘every-dayer’. It’s not about being the most vocal guy, but it’s his practice habits, how he does things daily, the details, being punctual, and contributing to the culture that we’ve established here. Sam is a player that has bought into all of those things, the structure on and off the ice. He’s so good in our community, he’s a very good communicator, and he’s the type of guy that bleeds Piston’s blue.”
Captain for the community 
With this being the first full year back in Steinbach, Noad says he and his teammates are very much looking forward to being in the community, and they know how important that is. “I know it’s a huge responsibility, being the captain for a community that cares and does so much for the hockey team. I feel I can speak for the team when I say that we’re super grateful to play for a team that has such strong community support. We couldn’t do what we do without the community, and the support we get from everyone involved. We’re very excited to be in the new rink, and we’re hoping to have it packed, and loud, and we want to make our fans proud. Being a part of the community is really important to us as a team, and to me as a person, because you see what it means to everyone, and how much love and passion people have. Getting to go to schools, reading to kids, it gives you so much joy that the kids look up to you a bit, that they have passion for hockey, and love to watch the Pistons play.”
Big billet brother
Since coming to Steinbach, Noad has become very close with his billet family, and he’s so proud to share this with them. “I’m so blessed to have a great billet family,” he says with a smile. “Three young billet brothers, a family that I’ve got to live with for the past two years, and I now consider a part of my family. I get to see first hand what being a Piston means, and it’s something I’ll cherish.”
Be who you are
Being named captain of a team is a big deal, and during the conversation, Dyck says he made a point to tell Noad that he was given this honour for a reason, because of who he is and how he plays, and it’s not something he should let change him. “Sometimes guys put a little pressure on themselves, they carry some extra weight, but I think the message is simple, he doesn’t have to be anyone different. There’s nothing that he needs to do that’s any different than last year. At the start of each season, we meet as a collective group in the dressing room, we talk about our leadership group, and identify who they are. Throughout the year, there are always others that naturally become leaders in the room, and often they don’t have a letter. That was the case for Sam, while he had a letter last year, this year he gets the ‘C’. We want him to be who he is, and go about his business. He’s a terrific person, and how he interacts, how he embraces the young players, making them feel comfortable, that’s what makes him a special person. In terms of production, sometimes guys when they are named captains, they feel like they have to be the top scorer on the team, but that’s not always the case. Sam might well be that guy, but that’s not number one for us, we want Sam to just be himself, and continue down the past he’s been going.”
Father and son moment
When he got the news, Noad says the best part was that he could share it with his dad, who happened to be there with him. “Paul was able to tell me in person, and my dad was just kind of hanging around at the time,” Noad says with a grin. “We were on the road and Paul met up with us, so my dad was first person I got to tell after I was told. It was very special between me and my dad. He’s one of my role models, he played hockey and he inspired the love of the game in me from a young age, so getting to tell him, that gave us a cool moment. I hope he’s proud, and I’m very grateful that I got to have that moment with him. I don’t think he’d have me play anywhere else. I know he’s proud to be a part of this, and I hope to make him proud, too.”
Compete
A theme for the Pistons every year, the players pick key words that they want to live up to, and for Noad, he says since getting the news that he’d be captain, he’s put a lot of thought into what his words will be this year. “It’s actually something I’ve been thinking about since the end of last season,” Noad says in a serious tone. “It’s been on my mind, and I’ve been thinking about what we could do differently, because the year didn’t end the way any of us wanted to, so thinking about what we can change, and what we can do as a group to come together and what can we do as a group to complete the ultimate goal. For me, the one word that I’m going to try and instill in the group, and try and lead by example with, is compete. Compete is super important. You can have game where you’re getting bad bounces, or you don’t have your A-game, but for us, if we’re competing every night with the amount of talent we’re going to have in the locker room, it gives us a chance to win against any team on any given day. It’s not something that anyone can make you do, it has to come from within, but hopefully myself, and the other leaders can set the example. Right from the first puck drop, we want to give ourselves a chance to win. We want our fans to leave the building every night saying that we worked hard, we wanted to win, we left it all out there, and we did everything we could to make them proud.”
Captain Sam Noad and the Steinbach Pistons will have training camp coming up as they get ready for their first exhibition games in early September.
