Dakota Mermis was named the third captain in Tucson Roadrunners franchise history prior to the 2018-2019 season. Mermis followed up that honor with his highest point total as a professional, scoring 24 points in 62 games.
How did Mermis come to be named captain? It’s pretty simple. He wins everywhere he goes.
He won the USHL Clark Cup Championship with the Green Bay Gamblers. He won two OHL championships with the London Knights, and capped off his junior career with as a Memorial Cup champion.
Mermis will likely never light up the scoreboard offensively, but he has been a very effective player in the AHL, including in 2018-2019 with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Dakota Mermis shown in a phototmatch to a March 24th, 2019 matchup with the San Jose Barracuda.
The captain’s jersey has pretty solid wear from what I’ve seen from the new CCM Quicklite gamers.
The left sleeve has a cluster of repairs near the hem of the sleeve as well as board burns throughout the sleeve and elbow area. The #4 in the sleeve #43 has red paint transfer that has been photomatched in a couple of different games.
The right sleeve has a huge repair that is around four inches long — the longest repair on a game worn jersey I’ve ever owned. In an around that huge repair are several other smaller repairs. The right elbow has one unrepaired hole in the black band, and there is another repair just above the bands on the elbow.
There are a scattering of marks throughout the rest of the jersey, including on the back of the right sleeve.
After playing in just 10 games in the NHL across four seasons in the Arizona Coyotes organization, Mermis signed with the New Jersey Devils prior to the 2019-2020 season.
His decision was rewarded late in the NHL season as he was called up for 10 games with the Devils, where he scored his first NHL goal and got his first points. He finished the season with a goal and three assists.