A.J. White Named Captain, Leadership Group Announced

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads have named forward A.J. White as team captain for the 2018-19 season, and Connor Chatham, Keegan Kanzig and Mitch Moroz have been named alternate captains, Steelheads Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Neil Graham announced Wednesday.

“He’s a natural leader,” said Graham about White. “He’s one of those guys that leads through his actions and his every day routine. It’s not something that comes difficult to him, and he’s to look to for an example. He’s a guy who is consistent. He brings it every day in practice and every game. He’s a model teammate, and you know he’s going to go to bat for you when you need him to.”

White, 26, enters his second full season with the Steelheads and third in professional hockey, and he’s now serving as captain for the second time in his career. During his senior season at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in 2015-16, he led the River Hawks to the Hockey East Championship Game as well as the East Regional Final of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Since joining the Steelheads prior to the 2017-18 season, the Dearborn, Mich., native has been a presence both on and off the ice over the last two seasons, capturing the respect of teammates and fans alike. White entered the season with the third-most points for a returning Steelheads player and currently sits in the top-5 for scoring leaders this season. Over his last two seasons, White has tallied 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points through 84 games with a plus-seven rating, one power play goal and one shorthanded goal.

“It’s a great honor,” said White. “Being the leader of this group means a lot to me. We’ve got a lot of great guys, so I’m excited to see where we can go from here.”

Chatham, 23, is the longest-tenured Steelheads player returning to this year’s roster. The Shiloh, Ill., native has played all three professional seasons with the Steelheads following his junior career in Canada. During that time, the former New Jersey Devils draft pick has also garnered the respect of his peers while developing his game. Over 134 career games, Chatham owns 19 goals and 31 assists for 50 points.

Kanzig, 23, has showcased his leadership qualities since joining the Steelheads this off-season with vocal leadership and leading by example. The Athabasca, Alb., product was formerly an alternate captain with the Calgary Hitmen in the 2014-15 season in his final year of junior hockey. Now in his third professional season, Kanzig has appeared in 126 career professional games including 117 games in the ECHL.

Moroz, 24, has been named alternate captain for the second-straight season, and despite not seeing game action this season has remained active through the end of last season up to this point. The Calgary, Alb., native was also an alternate captain in his final junior season with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2013-14 in his fifth season. Moroz is in the midst of his fifth professional season with 169 professional games between the AHL and ECHL. With the Steelheads, he owns five goals and seven assists for 12 points through 22 games.

“Our three alternates are prime examples of guys that do what it takes to win hockey games, and all four [captains] are very selfless players," said Graham. "When you have those kinds of guys leading the charge, it’s very easy to follow the message and contribute in the way you’re seeing them play.

"The one nice thing is we have a room full of leaders. We have a lot of guys that bring leadership qualities. We have a lot of former captains from college and major juniors as well as in pro, so when you have that culture in the dressing room already, there's a lot of guys that step up with or without letters."

The Steelheads open a six-game stretch against the Rapid City Rush beginning tonight at CenturyLink Arena. Puck drop is at 7:10 p.m.

Single-game tickets and season ticket packages are on sale, with full-season packages starting as low as $300 per seat. Contact the Idaho Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information or log on to idahosteelheads.com.