Defenseman Francois De Villiers Named Captain with Defenseman Damon Bickler and Forward Ethan Hull Named Alternate Captains
(Albuquerque, NM) Friday, September 20, 2024 —The New Mexico Ice Wolves® Head Coach and GM Kevin Hartzell announced the first captains to the team just before the start of the first game of the regular season. Following consultation with assistant coaches Vinny Bohn and Kyle McKenzie, coach Hartzell named Francois De Villiers the team’s first captain this season. Damon Bickler and Ethan Hull were named as the first alternate captains. Coach Hartzell told the team that this leadership trio will wear the letters for approximately a dozen games and then will work with the coaches to choose their replacements for the next set of games.
“The idea is to learn to recognize and really see what leadership looks like,” said Head Coach Kevin Hartzell. “They will then acknowledge it with the honor of handing their duties on to the teammate they see as so deserving.”
This unique approach to naming captains has worked successfully for coach Hartzell over his long and successful coaching career where he focuses as much on developing the whole person as he does the complete hockey player. There will be several leadership changes through the season before the entire team will choose their final captains for the stretch run and hopefully the playoffs.
Defenseman Damon Bickler Defenseman Francois De Villiers Forward Ethan Hull
Photo Credits Zach Price
The New Mexico Ice Wolves open the regular season in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) today at 6:30pm MT at the Outpost Ice Arena where they host the Corpus Christi Ice Rays in the first of a three-game homestand. The same teams meet Saturday, September 21 at 6:30pm MT and on Sunday, September 22 at 2pm MT. Immediately following the game on Sunday, the players will skate with the fans as all fans are encouraged to bring their skates the game to join the fun. Ticketed fans without their own skates can use a pair of Outpost Ice Arena rental skates at no charge.
The NM Ice Wolves will travel to Blaine, MN next week for three games in the NAHL Showcase, nicknamed The Greatest Show on Ice, where all 35 NAHL teams gather to play out of division games in front of hundreds of NCAA and professional scouts.
New season ticket packages are available for purchase at the team’s ticket website, https://tickets.nmicewolves.com/. Season ticket holders receive a guaranteed seat for all 30 NM Ice Wolves home games in the regular season, priority access to playoff tickets and priority renewal. Season tickets start at $770 for reserved stadium chair seats, and $420 for bleacher seats. With the purchase of a full season package, you’ll receive an NA3HL Season Pass for best seats available on game day. Season tickets can be contracted using a payment plan that is available when finalizing. For accessible and companion seating please contact tickets@nmicewolves.com.
Partial season tickets (14 games) start at $385 for reserved stadium chair seats and $210 for bleacher seats with bonus tickets to one US NTDP game. Partial season tickets are also available in a six-game flex pack, $165 for stadium chair seats and $90 for bleacher seats. Single game tickets start at $27.50 for reserved stadium chair seats and $15 for bleacher seats. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.nmicewolves.com.
The team has two hospitality suites available on a single game basis. Suites come with light snacks and fountain drinks, and catering options are available for an additional charge. The Land of Enchantment Suite starts at $499 and seats 32, and the Sandia Suite starts at $599 and seats 42. Anyone interested in reserving a suite for a group or special event can contact tickets@nmicewolves.com for more information.
View the entire 2024-2025 NAHL schedule here.
A new season also means new opportunities for local families in Albuquerque to become a unique and crucial part of the NM Ice Wolves by becoming a host family for a player. Hosting a player can be an exciting and rewarding experience that often leads to lifelong friendships between the player and his host family. To learn more about becoming a host family and frequently asked questions please visit: https://www.nmicewolves.com/you-can-make-a-difference-become-a-new-mexico-ice-wolves-host-family
All NAHL games are live on NATV through a monthly or annual subscription, there is also a pay-as-you-go option to pay per game. To learn more about the NM Ice Wolves please visit their NAHL Team Page or on social media on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and the arena at www.outposticearena.com. For team media inquiries, please contact Aaron Martinez at 505-212-8762 or amartinez@reelz.com
About NAHL
Celebrating its 50th season in 2024-25, the NAHL is the oldest and one of the largest junior hockey leagues of its kind in the United States and one of only two USA Hockey-certified leagues that operate under the free-to-play model. The NAHL is also one of the best in the world at advancing players to NCAA and professional hockey.
With 400 NCAA commitments during the 2023-24 season, the league has set a new standard with 300+ NCAA commitments in each of the last eight seasons. That also includes 270 NCAA Division I commitments this past season. In addition, six players with NAHL ties were listed in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings for the 2024 NHL Draft.