Penn State men’s hockey announced its team captains for the 2022-23 season on Wednesday. Fifth-year senior Paul DeNaples will return as the team’s captain, making him only the second player in program history to wear the “C” for more than one season, joining Tommy Olczyk, who played in Happy Valley from 2011 to 2016.

The Nittany Lions’ alternate captains will be Connor McMenamin, Tyler Gratton, Connor MacEachern, and Kevin Wall. McMenamin, who is the only returning alternate captain, will wear the “A” alongside Gratton for home games. Meanwhile, MacEachern and Wall will be alternate captains on the road.

“With so many of our seniors being identified as key leaders this season, we will be rotating alternate captains at home and on the road,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “This class will be relied upon to meet and exceed the level of Penn State Hockey standards that was evident during their freshmen year when the program won its first Big Ten Regular Season Title.” 

Gadowsky’s team comes into the new season following a 17-20-1 record and a second-round Big Ten Tournament loss to Minnesota during the 2021-22 season. Although the Big Ten schedule hasn’t been released yet, Penn State’s first non-conference series is scheduled to begin on October 7, as the squad will play a two-game set against Canisius at Pegula Ice Arena.