With the season opener a day away, the Surrey Eagles are proud to announce Holden Katzalay and Cristophe Tellier will round out the leadership group as assistant captains for this year’s team. These two forwards will join the captain Cody Schiavon, and assistant captain Hudson Schandor in leading this young Eagles team, and helping the rookies grow and develop their games in order to battle for the Fred Page Cup.
Holden Katzalay is one of only 3 returning players from last season, while Cristophe Tellier was acquired this off-season in a trade from the Wenatchee Wild. With Schiavon and Schandor being vocal leaders on and off the ice, Holden and Cristophe will look to lead with their actions on the ice. Both admitted in interviews with SurreyEagles.ca that while the ‘A’ is an honour to have, it’s not going to change how they go about their business.
Tellier: “I mean, I’m going to show the guys what to do on the ice, day in and day out. I’m not normally a vocal guy, but if I have to say something I’ll do it to show something to the younger kids.”
Katzalay: “I’m not a super vocal guy, so I’ll usually lead on the ice. However, there are times where you’re going to have to say something in the room to tell someone to pick it up a bit. In the end, if I have to speak up in the room, I’m going to do it.
While the honour is normally a coach’s decision, Cam Keith and the Eagles coaching staff let the team choose the last 2 assistant captains by holding a vote. We asked both players what it felt like to be hand picked by their teammates to help lead the team this upcoming season.
Tellier: “It’s nice for the guys to vote for me, and it means a lot. In the end it’s not going to change a lot for me. I’m going to try and be a leader all year long, and try to help the younger guys have a real good year.”
Katzalay: “It’s a cool feeling to know your teammates respect you enough to vote for you, but everyone is going to be a leader on this team and I’m going to go out and do what I always do.”
The Eagles want to congratulate this year’s leadership group! Cody Schiavon on the captaincy, and Hudson Schandor, Holden Katzalay, and Cristophe Tellier on being named assistant captains for the 2019-20 season. You can catch their first regular season game on HockeyTV and Mixlr, as the boys start their season on Friday night to face the defending Fred Page Cup Champions, the Prince George Spruce Kings in Prince George at 7:00 pm.
Fans first chance to see this team live from the South Surrey Arena will be September 13th, as the boys will open their home schedule with a game against the Coquitlam Express. The home opener is scheduled for 7:00 pm, and the doors will open at 6:00 pm. If you’re interested in pre ordering your tickets to the home opener, click here.
Don’t have your season tickets yet? Don’t worry, there’s still time! Purchasing season tickets gives you a discount of up to $250 compared to getting them from the box office, including many other perks on top of that. Click here for more details if you are interested in becoming a season ticket holder.
