Hockey players do tend to be the strong, silent type. Much like Marion Morrison, the man we knew as John Wayne the movie star - that's how I will always think of Shea Weber.

How does one remember the Nashville Predators "John Wayne?" That's how I've described the team's previous captain prior to the day he was traded on June 29, 2016.

He became a part of the Predators at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft - that June weekend when Nashville hospitality really captured the League.

Shortly thereafter, as the draftees were making their way to their selecting team's suites, I had the chance to meet "my hockey son."

I guess we could say that Weber filled out some after that, couldn't we? He is listed at 6-foot-4, weighing in at 236pounds. He's feared around the NHL for his physical presence, and his shot has been clocked at more than 108 miles per hour. When a player attempts to block it, bystanders will praise that player for his bravery and question his intelligence at the same time.

The Preds lost Weber for 28 games during the 2007-08 season due to injury. He returned to action in January of that season, and after his first period back, he joined Terry Crisp for the "quick hit" interview in the first intermission.

The team's captain from 2010 onward, Weber was the face of the Nashville Predators - and here he was the voice as well:

A member of the Canadian Olympic team in both 2010 and 2014 and a postseason NHL All-Star selection four times,