Cody Schiavon Named Surrey Eagles Captain

The Surrey Eagles are extremely proud to announce that Cody Schiavon has been named captain for the upcoming 2019-20 BCHL season. The 18-year-old defenceman takes over the captaincy from the departing Jeremy Smith, who will be attending Quinnipiac University next season.

Schiavon is entering his third season with the club, having appeared in 101 BCHL games in his career – 96 of which have been with the Eagles. He served as an assistant captain last season with the 2018-19 leadership group.

“I was excited when I found out,” Schiavon told SurreyEagles.ca. “It’s a huge honour. I’m really looking forward to the season coming up. We have a good group of guys coming in and returning, I think it will be a lot of fun.”

With 21 points last season, Schiavon was tied with Riley Hayles for the team lead in points among defencemen. He tied his career-best with 3 goals, and set a new career high with 18 assists in 44 games.

Although he is capable of racking up points and possesses a powerful shot from the point, scoring isn’t what Schiavon is primarily known for. His leadership is what sets him apart and is the reason general manager Blaine Neufeld and head coach/associate general manager Cam Keith felt comfortable making the captaincy announcement before the season.

“This announcement means a lot to me,” Schiavon explained. “It means you’re being singled out as a guy who leads by example. I think I’m a very competitive person, and hopefully people will follow that because we want to have 22-23 leaders in the room. It doesn’t matter who it is, how old you are, or if you’re wearing a letter.”

This will be Schiavon’s first season under the guidance of new head coach Cam Keith, who has made a great first impression with the new captain. Dealing with a coaching change is never easy, but with assistant coaches Brad Tobin and Linden Saip maintaining a presence on the staff, it has made the transition easier.

It’s not a complete blank slate, either. It turns out that Schiavon already had a level of familiarity with Keith before he was even announced as the new head coach.

“I know Cam a little bit,” said Schiavon about his new bench boss. “When I first came to Surrey he was recruiting me to Trail as well, when he was there, so it came full circle a little bit. I think we’ve built on the previous relationship we had, and it’s been good so far.”

The two have met one-on-one to discuss the upcoming season and the direction of the team, which has added to Schiavon’s excitement level about the players that have been recruited so far.

There is still a bitter taste still left in his mouth after last season, so Schiavon says he would love nothing more than to bounce back in a big way. With a solid core of returning players, and excitement surrounding the players being brought in, that is a real possibility in his mind.

“I think winning would show resiliency for the group that has been here, myself included, but there are others. Having that perseverance and sticking with it would mean so much to me. I can’t wait for next season.”