At 6-feet, 3 inches, and 220 pounds, Kyle Rogers can amply shoulder the responsibilities of being captain of the Toledo Walleye.

Rogers, a 26-year-old forward, is the club's second oldest player and has four seasons of pro hockey under his belt. That seniority is one reason he was named captain prior to the season opener by coach Nick Vitucci.

"It is a great honor," Rogers said. "You have guys looking up to you. They know you're here to help them. If the players don't feel comfortable going to the coach with different issues, they can come to me."

Vitucci said he picked Rogers to wear the "C" on his jersey in part because he is "very mature and level-headed."

"I knew he would lead by example, which is important for someone wearing that letter because it's hard for a captain to challenge a teammate to do this or that if they are not doing it themselves," Vitucci said.

He said the other players gravitate to Rogers for advice.

"In the heat of the battle he has that calming influence," he said.

The right winger scored his team's only goal in a season-opening 5-1 loss to Chicago on Oct. 15. The Walleye earned their first victory of the season with a 3-2 win over South Carolina at the Huntington Center on Saturday.

"It's a relief," Rogers said. "With all these new faces we knew the first win might be difficult. We put together a good 60-minute game. That is what it will take."

Goalie Thomas McCollum stopped 37 of 39 shots and rookies Paul Zanette and Phil Rauch scored their first goals a professionals.

The Walleye (1-2-0) play just one game this week as they start a four-game road trip on Saturday night in Chicago.

"We'll watch videos and see all the positives," Rogers said. "We found a way to win. We're on the road for two weeks. So that win gave us a boost of energy."

Rogers, in his second season with Toledo, said he has learned from previous captains and has incorporated their different styles. He said it's an honor to follow in the skates of the Walleye's first two captains, Ryan Stokes and Adam Keefe. "I learned a bunch of things about how they handled being a captain," he said.

Rogers said the main responsibility as a captain is "being a professional on and off the ice."

He said arriving early to all team functions is a priority for him. "It shows your team and your coaches how much you care," he said.

Rogers said he has never been a captain either in youth, college, or pro hockey. He did serve as one of the team's alternate captains last year.

"This is new for me," he said. "People are watching you and are looking for you to lead them to the next level."

Before turning pro in 2008, Rogers played three seasons for Niagara University in New York. He had 18 goals and 21 assists. His team won a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title in 2008.

"That was the highlight at Niagara," he said.

He also majored in criminal justice but said he has other ambitions after his hockey career is over.

"I haven't really thought about it too much," he said. "I'd like to maybe become a firefighter. And I've always wanted to open a little sports bar."

In the offseason Rogers worked a construction job back in his hometown of Erie, Pa.

"We remodeled decks," he said. "We worked for churches."

Last season, Rogers set career highs in goals (12), assists (24), and points (36) in 69 games for Toledo.

Rogers has played in 141 games in the American Hockey League, which is one level above the ECHL. Rogers, who signed an ECHL contract with Toledo this summer, could be called up by any AHL team.

"Every hockey player wants to move up and has that dream to play in the NHL," Rogers said. "I don't plan on hanging them up any time soon. It just takes one scout to be watching in the stands."

Rogers emphasized his top priority is returning the Walleye to the ECHL playoffs after the team did not qualify last season.

"It was a long offseason" he said. "I don't want that again. We'll take it one game at a time, shift by shift. We want to get to the playoffs and from there we want to win a championship."

Toledo finished this past week with a 1-1-0 record, dropping its first road contest of the season last Friday 6-3 in Kalamazoo.

The Walleye's next home game is Wednesday, Nov. 9 against Chicago with a special 10:30 a.m. start time. It is a "School Day Celebration."

For ticket info call 419-725-WALL or go to toledowalleye.com.

FISH TALES: On Monday, defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin was recalled to Rockford of the AHL.

Danis-Pepin had appeared in all three games for the Walleye this year, with no points and seven penalty minutes.

Last season he played in 33 games for Toledo and had three goals, nine assists and 12 penalty minutes. ... Forward Evan Rankin scored three goals in two games last weekend. All three of his goals came on the power play. Rankin was nominated for the ECHL Player of the Week. Florida's Justin Shugg received the honor after scoring three goals to go along with three assists. ... Toledo has scored at least one power-play goal in each of the first three games. The Walleye are 4-of-14 (28.5 percent) on the man advantage. ... Toledo posted its first win against South Carolina on Saturday and are now 1-10-1 in three seasons against the Stingrays. ... The Walleye currently lead the ECHL in penalty minutes with 95. They also lead the league with nine major penalties.

ECHL ROUNDUP: The ECHL defending champion Alaska Aces have continued to roll into the 2011-12 season.

Alaska started 5-0-0 through the first two weeks, as the defending Kelly Cup champion, the Aces have picked up right where they left off last season.

Alaska went 23-4-1 over its final 28 regular-season games in 2010-11 and then went 12-1 during the Kelly Cup Playoffs, setting an ECHL record for fewest losses in a single postseason. With their 5-0-0 start this season, the Aces have put together an impressive 40-5-1 record in their last 46 outings.

Of the 23 players on this season's roster, 18 suited up for the Aces during last year's run.

The ECHL's two expansion teams made their debuts last weekend.

The Colorado Eagles played before a sell-out crowd of 5,289 in each of their first two games at the Budweiser Events Center. The Chicago Express opened their home season on Saturday with a crowd of 5,472 at Sears Centre Arena.

The Trenton Titans played their first home game since the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs before a crowd of 5,211. The original franchise was established in 1999. But after a purchase by the NHL's New Jersey Devils in 2007, it operated as the Trenton Devils for the past four seasons. That club was folded on July 6 this summer.

The Titans were re-established July 28, 2011, after a vote by the ECHL Board of Directors under a new ownership -- Blue Line Sports LLC.

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade

First Published October 26, 2011, 5:49 a.m.