Voth Steps Down as Skipper

Cardiff Devils forward Mark Richardson says former captain Brad Voth had to step down after his relationship with referees became unworkable.

British defenceman Richardson recently assumed the role as Devils' team captain, taking over Voth's duties following a decision made by player-coach Gerad Adams.

And in an exclusive interview with skysports.com, Richardson explained why the team decided to go in a new direction.

"It got to a point when anytime Brad had a discussion with a referee he would come off with a penalty," Richardson said.

"As captain he has to be able to speak to the refs and it got to a point where he couldn't so it was very tough for him.
Misconduct

"It's just down to the fact that whatever he does he seems to get penalised for it. It's a tough job to keep being sent to the penalty box and to be captain as well."

Voth, who is one of the highest penalty takers in the Elite League with almost 300 minutes in the box, will now be free to concentrate purely on playing the game.

Given that he has received numerous bans and misconducts during his lengthy spell in the UK, it appears that Voth eventually wore out his welcome with league officials and the feelings were seemingly mutual.

Despite Voth's leadership ability, it's rare that the leading penalty taker would be the captain on any hockey club, and the move could hardly be called a surprise.

Voth, the figurehead of the Devils, still retains his other role as the 'club' captain.

"Brad's been captain for three years and is still a big leader on our team," Richardson said.

"I was only asked a couple of days before we played to take over, it wasn't something that had really come up before."