Burgin & Naaykens named SLU Captains

Courtesy of St. Lawrence University

The St. Lawrence University men’s hockey team and Charles W. Appleton II Head Men’s Hockey Coach Brent Brekke have announced the team’s captains ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Serving as team captains in numerical are, Mason WaitePhilippe ChapleauDrake Burgin, and Ty Naaykens. All four players will wear a “C” for the Skating Saints this year. The ceremony, which took place at Camp Canaras as part of Legacy Weekend, was aided by two-year Skating Saints captain Kyle Flanagan ’13, who helped announce this year’s leadership group.

“We are extremely excited about this year’s captains and the tremendous leadership qualities of this group of four seniors,” said Brekke “Ty, Mason, Philippe, and Drake have been impactful contributors since day one of their first years on campus. They have a great understanding of our Saints Hockey tradition and embody what our culture is all about. They all bring their own leadership styles and individual qualities to our program. Their daily pursuit to be the best they can be is infectious and fun to be around as teammates and coaches!”

Waite, Burgin, and Naaykens will all represent their hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, while Chapleau hails from Longueuil, Québec to make up the all-Canadian quartet.

Waite enters his senior season after producing 20 points on four goals and 16 assists in the 2023-24 season, tied for the second-highest total on the team. The defender has played in 110 career games with 10 goals and 37 assists for 47 points.

Chapleau had a career-best 16 points last season from his post on the blueline with 11 assists and a career-high five goals. The blueliner has dressed in 110 games in his collegiate career and has ten goals and 33 assists for 43 points.

Burgin had a breakout season for the Scarlet and Brown last season with seven goals and 13 assists. His 20 points, alongside Waite, and Tomas Mazura, were second-best on the roster and his seven goals were tied for second-most a season ago for the Saints. Burgin enters his senior season with 93 games played and 29 points with 11 goals and 18 assists.

Naaykens, the lone forward of the four, played in all 39 games a season ago, scored a career-high seven goals, and had seven helpers. His seven goals ranked second on the team. The forward has 102 games under his belt for St. Lawrence and has 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points.

The Skating Saints will open the 2024-25 campaign by playing their first six games in Appleton Arena. The Scarlet and Brown open the season on October 5-6 hosting RIT and Canisius, then will host Notre Dame, Niagara, and Ferris State in the next two weekends.