With a number of rookies on the Jr. A lacrosse club, McIlhone is one of the few that could be considered a veteran, and entering his third season with the Warriors, his role has changed considerably.

No longer is he only expected to chip in on offence and bring a consistent effort night after night.

A captain doesn't get off that easy.

Early in training camp, the 21-year-old Brooklin resident was tabbed by Corny Derks and his coaching staff to assume the captaincy roll and lead a young and inexperienced roster through what is expected to be a re-building season.

It's a role he understands and seems to relish.

"It's obviously an honour," he says of serving as captain. "I feel that though I'm not the most talented guy out there, I bring it every game and I try to get everyone else to do that. (GM) Ed (Derks) and Corny told me they wanted me to carry that over.

"I like to think by the end of the year, regardless of where we are, I hope to help some guys along," McIlhone adds. "This could be my last year of lacrosse and I hope to be able to help someone else make that next step."

Those words are exactly why Derks had no reservations in regards to saddling McIlhone with such responsibility.

"Phil is great on the bench and in the dressing room and that's what a young team needs," says the coach. "We expect to have some down nights, and on those nights you need someone to pick the team up. Even if it's not on the floor, you need someone that is going to have that attitude that it's not the end of the world."

And there is no question McIlhone's attitude will keep things light in a dressing room that will most likely need a few laughs at times.

During a recent interview, when the question was posed to him as to how he felt being named captain, the timing of the inquiry was impeccable. Unless of course you were McIlhone, as three teammates, including fellow veteran Alex Henderson, walked by and decided to stop and wait for a response while fighting back the laughter.

McIlhone happily obliged.

"You know, I sit at home and think about this all the time," he says with a chuckle. "I just won it in an auction. It was an end of the year tournament and I put twenty bucks on it... There are a lot of guys we could chose. We've got Alex Henderson and he's played here like 18 years or something."

When the laughter subsided, McIlhone reaffirmed how happy and honoured he is to be the captain. And with the high praise from his coach, and good natured ribbing from his teammates, it appears they are quite content with their leader as well.