DANBURY, CT – After a brief hiatus from league play for showcase week, the Jr. Hat Tricks (NAHL) are back on the eastern seaboard for the month of October.
Coming off of a win to end the NAHL Showcase in Maine, the Hat Tricks kick off the month with an away series against the Maine Nordiques on Friday, Oct. 1, and Saturday, Oct. 2. Both games are set for a 7 p.m. puck drop. Following that, the remainder of the month is filled with seven home games.
Hat Tricks head coach Billy McCreary has named two captains for the 2021-22 season giving returners Joshua Seely and Hunter McCurdy. McCurdy, a defenseman, just played his 100th career NAHL game and brings a deep breadth of experience to Danbury. He played the first 47 games of his career with the Springfield Jr. Blues before coming to the Hat Tricks before last season.
Seely, on the other hand, finds himself between the pipes for the Hat Tricks. Hailing from Michigan, Seely is as vocal of a goaltender as you are likely to see. “Both guys lead in their own way.” Said Billy McCreary of his Captains, “Their leadership styles compliment each other and put our team in a position to win.”
McCreary also named two assistant captains for the 2021-22 season. He tapped Gabe Dombrowski to assume one of the assistant captain roles. Dombrowski notched 25 points (12G + 13A) last season for Danbury, which is the most of any returner for the Hat Tricks. The other assistant captain is Fredrik Schlyter, who is a newcomer to Danbury this season. Schlyter joins the squad after averaging over a point per game in various junior leagues across Sweden for five-plus years.
Even with the responsibility laid on these four men, head coach Billy McCreary echoed a sentiment throughout the process. “Everyone is a leader. Every single one of you.” McCreary said when addressing the team.
It is that mindset and tenacity that the Hat Tricks look to carry into the start of the grueling month of October in the NAHL.