UConn men's hockey head coach Mike Cavanaugh announced the team captains for the 2022-23 season.

Rising senior Roman Kinal (Waterford, Mich.) has been elected the team's captain while classmate Jake Flynn (Bridgewater, Mass.) and junior Hudson Schandor (North Vancover, British Columbia) will be alternate captains for the upcoming season.

Roman Kinal

"To be voted captain by my teammates and coaches is a tremendous honor, and I am grateful for the opportunity," commented the senior defenseman. "We have an extremely special group filled with leaders who have all bought into the UConn culture. I am excited to get things started and to compete for a Hockey East and national championship."

Kinal is no stranger to a leadership role with the Huskies having served as an alternate captain last season.  The rising senior is entering his fifth year in the program after being forced to miss all of the 2019-20 season with an injury.  He returned to play 16 games in the shortened Covid-19 campaign in 2020-21 and is coming off his best season statistically last year.  Kinal was a mainstay on the Huskies' blue line in all 36 games in 2021-22, finishing with a career-best three goals and four assists for seven points and was a career-best +10 for the season.  He also blocked 29 shots.  During his career he has played in 86 games with 20 points coming on five goals and 15 assists.

"During my time at UConn, I was able to play and learn alongside great captains such as Miles Gendron, Wyatt Newpower, Ben Freeman, Adam Karashik, Carter Turnbull, and Jachym Kondelik, who really paved the way for this program to succeed," said Kinal. "I believe a good leader is someone who is committed to creating a winning culture and accepts the responsibility of leaving the program in a better place."

Jake Flynn

"Being voted as a captain by my teammates and coaches is something that I take a lot of pride in," said Flynn.  "After coming up short at TD Garden last year, all the returners are hungry to get back there and win.  We are excited to get a new group of guys in and instill the culture we have built here with our incoming teammates."

Flynn has been a key cog in the Huskies' defensive unit over the past three seasons.  Last season he played in 31 games and put up 10 points offensively on two goals and eight assists.  He was second among the team's defensemen in blocked shots with 40.  Over three seasons he has appeared in 84 games and produced 25 points on five goals and 20 assists.

"Over the last three years, I have been lucky enough to play alongside some great leaders on our teams," stated Flynn.  "As the culture and success of our program has grown over the last few years, I think a lot of it stemmed off from our captains. Coming in each day, they would set the standard for the program and always do things the right way and I want to make sure we continue to hold up that tradition."

Hudson Schandor

"It means such a tremendous amount to me to be named an assistant captain by my peers and coaches," stated Schandor. "Through hours of work together, to see them respect the effort and energy I put in everyday excites me to continually put that same effort and energy into everything moving forward."

Schandor is one of the top-returning scorers for the Huskies this coming season, coming off a year where he posted 18 points.  The rising junior played in 28 games and produced five goals with 13 assists while coming up with a pair of game-winners.  Over his two years in Storrs, Schandor has played 50 games for the Huskies and has 32 points on 11 goals and 21 assists.  He has four career game-winners, two power play goals and is a +7 overall.

"A UConn leader is someone who is resilient, positive and a good communicator," said the rising junior forward. "Everyone at our level of play is an extremely hard worker and is committed to becoming a better person and player during their time at college. The thing we as leaders hope to bring isn't just play on the ice or being vocal in the room but also being there for our teammates in whatever way we can. Having faced a few more roadblocks than some younger guys coming in, as a leader it would be a pleasure to help out in all things."