With the boys settling down in Kenai they came together to vote on their captain and two assistant captains for the year. With a near unanimous vote, defenseman Brendan Hill was selected to be the teams primary captain. When asked about being named captain, Hill said “Being named captain, I feel honored that the boys trust and believe in me to lead them by example. Leadership is a huge aspect in the game of hockey. It’s all about playing for the guy next to you, and becoming brothers on and off the ice. I hope to guide this team to continuous improvement and build a selfless and positive culture every day”. A native of Michigan, Hill is in his second year with the Brown Bears, having spent most of last season in Minnesota with the rest of the team.
Forward, David Vieten, selected as one of two assistant captains, is also in his second season with the Brown Bears, once again spending the majority of the time last year in Minnesota. Vieten grew up in Calabasas, California, playing for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings AAA before making his way up to Kenai.
There is one new face who got the call to be one of the assistant captains, defenseman, Sean Henry. Another Michigan native, Henry comes to Kenai with three years of experience in the NAHL. First playing for the Maryland Black bears in 2018-19 where he suited up for 32 games, he made his way to the Minnesota Magicians for one game before being dealt in 2019-20 to the New Mexico Ice Wolves where he spent two seasons, playing in a total of 53 games where he accumulated 11 points.
These gentleman will get the first chance to wear their new letters in the Brown Bears home opening weekend vs. Chippewa Steel on October 21st-23rd, the building will be at full capacity to cheer on the boys as we welcome back a full crowd for the first time in almost two years.
