Defenseman Francois De Villiers Named Captain with Defenseman Damon Bickler and Forward Ethan Hull Named Alternate Captains
The New Mexico Ice Wolves Head Coach and GM Kevin Hartzell announced the first captains to the team just before the start of the first game of the regular season. Following consultation with assistant coaches Vinny Bohn and Kyle McKenzie, coach Hartzell named Francois De Villiers the team’s first captain this season. Damon Bickler and Ethan Hull were named as the first alternate captains. Coach Hartzell told the team that this leadership trio will wear the letters for approximately a dozen games and then will work with the coaches to choose their replacements for the next set of games.
“The idea is to learn to recognize and really see what leadership looks like,” said Head Coach Kevin Hartzell. “They will then acknowledge it with the honor of handing their duties on to the teammate they see as so deserving.”
This unique approach to naming captains has worked successfully for coach Hartzell over his long and successful coaching career where he focuses as much on developing the whole person as he does the complete hockey player. There will be several leadership changes through the season before the entire team will choose their final captains for the stretch run and hopefully the playoffs.
The New Mexico Ice Wolves open the regular season in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) today at 6:30pm MT at the Outpost Ice Arena where they host the Corpus Christi Ice Rays in the first of a three-game homestand. The same teams meet Saturday, September 21 at 6:30pm MT and on Sunday, September 22 at 2pm MT. Immediately following the game on Sunday, the players will skate with the fans as all fans are encouraged to bring their skates the game to join the fun. Ticketed fans without their own skates can use a pair of Outpost Ice Arena rental skates at no charge.
The NM Ice Wolves will travel to Blaine, MN next week for three games in the NAHL Showcase, nicknamed The Greatest Show on Ice, where all 35 NAHL teams gather to play out of division games in front of hundreds of NCAA and professional scouts.