Notification: Congratulate Jesse King on celebrating his two-year work anniversary of being named Captain of the Calgary Roughnecks.
The path that has led the Victoria, BC native to become Captain King 3.0 has been an introspective journey, not without challenges. This latest version of Captain King feels more comfortable and confident in his role than ever before.
On December 10, 2022, then-Roughnecks Head Coach Curt Malawsky named King the ninth Captain in team history. This coveted position had previously been held by the likes of Tracey Kelusky, Andrew McBride, Dan MacRae, Dane Dobbie, and others. The latter two have been particularly influential in the development of King’s leadership identity.
When the Roughnecks were pushed to their limits in the first half of their season-opener – they were down 10-3 at the 7:48 mark of the second quarter of the 2024-25 NLL Season against the Halifax Thunderbirds, the team needed its warrior leaders to step up.
From Roughnecks Head Coach Josh Sanderson to King to the rest of the leadership, the team understood what needed to be done to achieve the comeback.
“When you’re on the bench, we know what’s happening, but it was like, ‘Let’s just focus on what we can do next, what we can control, what we can do,’” King said. “Especially for our offensive side of the ball where there’s so many veterans and so much leadership, we knew that we just had to try and take control when we could and try and get the ball in the back of the net.”
For King, ever since he was appointed Captain, he has been ready to step up in any capacity for his brothers on the floor.
“For me, it’s always been, ‘How can I support this team I’m on?” King said the week after first being named Captain in 2022. “For many guys, that often end up earning some sort of leadership position, but for me, I kind of think that happened naturally. In the situation of Calgary, we have so many guys that could wear a letter on their chest.”
After trading goals with the Thunderbirds to move the score to 11-4, King and the Roughnecks buckled down and went on a masterful seven-goal run spanning from late in the second quarter through to the middle stages of the third quarter. Suddenly, it was all knotted up at 11-11.
What assisted the Roughnecks in their pursuit of victory, according to King, was the team’s trust in one another, especially when it came to the ageless legends of the game, Curtis Dickson and Dobbie, who decided to carry the brunt of the team’s weight towards the finish line. That locker room believes in one another, and you could sense that during their furious comeback surge.
“When you have guys that you trust to say the right things, and you know they’re going to say the right things, that’s kind of when that anxiety and that pressure kind of releases and you’re able to sit back and kind of take a deep breath and be like, ‘Hey, I agree with what you’re saying, that’s what we need to focus on, here’s what else we need to focus on,’ King said. “And then we kind of go from there and lead as a group and try and come out successful on the other end.”
King has learned from his mentors, such as Dobbie and MacRae, that when the going gets tough, the leaders don’t hide, no matter what pressure the team is facing.
“There’s always a little bit of pressure and a little bit of anxiety when you’re part of a leadership group on any team,” King said. “But, those guys are also the reason that you get put in those positions; you have the ability to handle that anxiety and pressure.”
Even when the Roughnecks fell behind by three goals heading into the final frame in this wild contest, the team never gave up on each other. They continued to collectively put their heads down and go to work.
The Roughnecks would outscore the Thunderbirds 6-2 in the fourth quarter to secure the improbable win – King assisted on both the game-tying goal and the goal-ahead goal by Brett McIntyre with less than three minutes on the clock. King would finish the night with a game-high ten points and an NLL career-high of eight assists. The Roughnecks won the game by an 18-17 scoreline.
In the thrilling contest, King exhibited two of the most essential leadership lessons he says he’s learned in his time with the league: Knowing when to speak up and command the room/bench/ and knowing what to say and then knowing that those are not as important as the actions you exhibit on the floor in games, at practice or even when they guys are hanging out and are on the road.
We saw King embrace his role, again, in Week Three, when, remarkably, the Roughnecks (led by Dane Dobbie and his historic fourth quarter of goals scored) stormed back to beat the Albany FireWolves in Albany, in overtime. King has truly understand that he doesn’t always need to be “The Guy” in big moments. He trusts the guys around him, and knows when he can take a different role while others shine. King is all about “we” and not “me”.
“One of the lessons that I learned really early on when I first started being a Captain (or even when I was Assistant Captain), I found that I was trying a little too hard to be a bit more of a voice in the locker room instead of letting it come to me a little bit more naturally,” King said. “I found that that was actually affecting how I was playing because I just wasn’t as focused on what I needed to be doing on the floor. I was more focused on making sure I was saying the right thing.”
His numbers on the scoresheet showcased how he can lead by example.
“I think that when it comes to, you know, leading by example is huge,” King said. “You can’t just talk all this talk and then go out there and then not show by example. I don’t think that that’s a very good way to show your leadership.”
Sporting competitions have a unique and often unforgiving way of exposing athletes for who they really are and what they are truly capable of when it’s time for their moment. Jesse King has shown time and time again that he is ready to lead in those moments. His efforts on the floor and the bench during the team’s season-opener showed us that.
By Adam Levi
