“Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them,” wrote William Shakespeare in “Twelfth Night.”

In sports, athletes rarely become leaders without at least one of those three things being true.

You can debate which one applies in the case of CNU’s ice hockey captain, Junior Brian Bowser, but there is little question that he is the leader of the Captains for a reason.

Bowser always had a love for hockey, with the game playing a big role in his earliest memories growing up in York, Pa., thanks to his father.

“He would take me out and push me around in a chair and skate with me long before I could do it myself,” Bowser said.

“Pretty much as soon as a I could stand, I was playing hockey.”

He acquired a ton of experience in the game before coming to CNU, and while he always had the inner drive to become a leader, college didn’t figure big in his plans, at least not at first.

In his younger days, he said he played “almost my whole life” for a youth hockey team, the Northern Virginia Ice Dogs, and also played one season with the Prince William Panthers.

As he got older, he transitioned to junior hockey, playing for what he said could be considered “amateur professional” teams such as the Virginia Statesmen, Blind River Beavers and Central Penn Panthers.

“Depending on where you play, or how good the league is, junior hockey preps you to play college hockey or professional hockey of some sort,” Bowser said.

When he finally did begin to think about college, CNU was not Bowser’s first choice.

“I had a couple of offers to go play hockey up north at a few schools, which I would have pursued if I had the money, but my parents didn’t support me going to college just to play hockey,” he said.

With a desire to play a year of junior hockey out of high school, Bowser chose CNU because it was one of two schools that allowed him a one-year deferred enrollment so he could play another year of junior hockey.

In addition, he said, “My parents really wanted me to come here.”

Bowser has made the most of his time with the Captains, being named team captain, something he takes very seriously.

“It’s something that I wanted,” said the 22-year-old. “It was an honor and a privilege for my coaches and my teammates chose me to be a captain of this team and it means a lot to me.”

Of course, it helps to have superb skills on the ice, and Bowser does.

Over his career at CNU, he has scored over 57 goals and has had over 37 assists.

Bowser said having the title of captain makes him “more self conscious about my actions on and off the ice, and puts a little bit more pressure on me to perform. My obligations to the team include leading through my performance on the ice, setting a positive example off the ice, dealing with team issues, and some administrative duties with the team. I’m also a co-director of marketing and recruiting with one of the other captains, Bryce Evason.”

It’s not always easy to live up to the high standards he sets for himself.

The biggest issue he’s had to work on since arriving at CNU in the fall of 2007 is his emotions on the ice.

Emotion is a huge part of hockey, but there’s a fine line between playing with too much or not enough, and between channeling your emotions in positive ways and letting emotions detract from your game.

“When I play my style of hockey, it can motivate me and my teammates to play harder or more inspired, but I have to make sure that I push it to that line, but don’t cross it, which ends up hurting my team with penalties,” he said.

“The hockey I came from was a lot rougher, dirtier, and more physical, so it has been a hard adjusting period for me,” he said.

“I have been doing a little bit better each year since I’ve been here, and it is a constant effort for me to improve that discipline on the ice.”

The type of hockey that Bowser grew up playing had a lot to do with the kind of game he plays today.

Although he is often one of the shortest players on the ice at 5-foot-8, he more than makes up for that with sweat, heart and grit.

Mike Fournier, one of Bowser’s coaches, thinks highly of him and says he has seen Bowser grow each year at CNU, both on and off the ice.

“With each season, Brian has gained more responsibility, to the point where he is the optimal college athlete leader. He maintains a high GPA and he plays at a high level on the ice. Every captain in the BRHC should take a page out of Brian Bowser’s book.”

Many players vary their approaches depending on the team and players they’re facing in each particular game.

But Bowser said his outlook never changes too much.

“My mentality going into a game is usually to just to go out there and play to the best of my ability,” he said. “I know what is expected of me and I try to go out there and deliver.”