Forwards Kalandyk, Olson added to DI men’s hockey captaincy corps as alternates to Feamster

Flames junior forward and leading scorer Jacob Kalandyk (left) and senior forward Truett Olson (right) will join sophomore forward and new head captain Sam Feamster as his alternate captains.

Forwards Kalandyk, Olson added to DI men’s hockey captaincy corps as alternates to Feamster

4/17/2024 6:37:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

The team also recognized its end-of-the-year award winners at Tuesday's team banquet at the Virginian in downtown Lynchburg.

Rising senior forward Jacob Kalandyk and graduate forward Truett Olson will serve as alternate captains under rising senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster on Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team during the 2024-25 season.

Head Coach Kirk Handy announced the additions to the captaincy corps during Tuesday's end-of-season team banquet at The Virginian in downtown Lynchburg.

"It is definitely exciting," said Kalandyk, who was the Flames' leading scorer last season with 19 goals and 22 assists. "We should have 11 new guys coming in, so it that's a bit of a challenge, but it will be a good opportunity for us as leaders to show what Liberty's about and help build our culture."

"We're both really looking forward to serving these guys as upperclassmen," added Olson, who graduated with his B.S. in Business Administration and is pursuing his M.B.A. "It will be a big difference and a lot of change seeing new faces in the locker room, but we want to start pouring into these younger guys' lives because we got poured into by those guys that have gone before us. We've got a great second layer of leadership, too, even among the guys that don't have letters. If we keep doing what we're doing, we will keep the Liberty legacy alive and see these new guys grow up."

Kalandyk and Olson played the majority of this past season on the same line as graduate Jackson Vercellono, one of the team's spiritual leaders who will return for a fourth season this fall.

"We did really well playing together on the same line, and off the ice, we are really close," said Olson, who previously served as captain for his senior season at Northstar Christian Academy in Minnesota the year after Vercellono graduated from that FCA Hockey-related school. "At the end of the day, we don't get to pick who we play with. We will wait until we bring the new guys in, and see what combinations are working and flowing together, with the best chemistry."

Kalandyk, who will graduate with a B.S. in Business Administration — Finance next spring, is excited to see the newcomers will mesh with the returning players.

"We are bringing in a lot of new guys, but we are still going to have a really strong team," he said. "We have a lot of great players back and we all know everyone's going to work really hard and that a lot of the new guys coming in are going to be hungry and looking to make an impact."

Olson, who along with Vercellono plans to continue to serve as a spiritual leader on the team, looks forward to discipling the younger players as well as sharpening his peers, as iron sharpens iron.

"It's important to establish a strong (spiritual) culture," he said. "Everyone in that locker room now wants to win. God's given us a gift to play hockey and we want to work hard to make the most of that gift. But at the end of the day, hockey will end and, in my opinion, leaving here a better man, a godly man, is more important than winning hockey games."

Also at Tuesday's banquet, Liberty honored each of its graduating players, and recognized several players who were nominated for end-of-the-year awards. Matt Bartel, last season's head captain who played 137 consecutive games for the Flames, received the Iron Man Award. Meanwhile, fellow senior forward Kris Bladen was honored with the Champion Award, for demonstrating what "Training Champions for Christ" means and being a consistent spiritual influence on the team.

Senior goalie Hunter Virostek was honored as Most Valuable Player while Feamster earned both the Most Improved Player and Hardest Working Player awards. Kalandyk was named the Forward of the Year, junior Colten Kovich was designated Defenseman of the Year, and freshman Ryan Finch was named Rookie of the Year.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Gallery: (4-17-2024) DI men's hockey banquet