OTTAWA – Morgan Rielly’s fourth season patrolling the blueline of the Toronto Maple Leafs begins with a mix of excitement and uncertainty.

The defenceman is one of only 10 returning players from Toronto’s roster on opening night a season ago. With six rookies now on board and only two forwards age 30 or older, the new-look Maple Leafs are a mystery even to Rielly.

“We’re not really too sure yet [how this will work]; we’re going to have to learn on the fly,” he said Wednesday after a morning skate at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa as Toronto prepared for its first game of the season against the Senators.

“As a group, we have expectations for ourselves and we want to prove some people wrong and try to surprise some people. But we don’t really know what to expect or what kind of reaction we’re going to get. We’re going to approach every game like we have a chance to win because we genuinely think we do.”

Tuesday night, the Maple Leafs announced that in lieu of naming a captain, Rielly, 22, would be one of four alternate captains for the club’s 2016-17 campaign. He joins Matt Hunwick, Leo Komarov and Tyler Bozak as a lettered leader.

“I’m humbled and honoured,” Rielly said. “But [a letter] is not going to change who I am as a person.  I approach every day the same and I want to be the best person and the best player that I can. It’s something the team chose, but when it comes to leadership we have lots of guys in this room who can handle that responsibility.”

Drafted fifth overall by Toronto in 2012, Rielly’s name was on the tip of everyone’s tongue this summer when the topic of Toronto possibly naming a captain came up. Ideally, a team with a young roster (Toronto’s average age to start the season is 25.4) would already have an established leadership hierarchy, but for the first time since Rielly arrived, Toronto has no captain.

Dion Phaneuf held the post from 2010 until he was traded to the Senators in February. Prior to Phaneuf, the captaincy was vacant for two seasons after Mats Sundin departed via free agency in 2008. During those years, the Maple Leafs underwent major changes, with the firing of head coach Paul Maurice and hiring of Ron Wilson in 2008, and the blockbuster trade for Phil Kessel in 2009. The team failed to qualify for the postseason either year. 

When it came down to it, Toronto’s management team wasn’t prepared to name Phaneuf’s successor this year.

“We’ve got kind of our veteran group and our kids coming and we feel there’s someone that’s going to distinguish themselves and become the leader of our team,” head coach Mike Babcock said. “[Rielly] being one of the captains is I think an important step for him… He’s an important guy for us, he’s a real leader on our team and we count on him.”

It remains to be seen if this is the first step toward Rielly eventually becoming team captain. He just signed a six-year, $30-million extension that runs through 2021-22 and is coming off his best offensive season, amassing 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists). In the room, Rielly is as well-respected among coaches and teammates as anyone.

But Auston Matthews has already shown maturity beyond his 19 years, and with Connor McDavid recently becoming the youngest captain in league history at 19 years, 267 days, is Toronto just biding time before making Matthews the franchise’s 19th captain?

“I wouldn’t bet my house on anything,” Babcock said, as his press conference came to an end.

In other words, stay tuned.