Langley Rivermen forward Tyler Chan was coming off a major injury when he reported for training camp at George Preston arena.
A few weeks later, he was named captain of the BCHL franchise.
In making the announcement to the players on Monday, Sept. 16, coach Chris Shaw told them "part of being a leader is is kind of what your journey has been, what you've gone through, and how you react to it."
In Chan's case, "he recovered from an injury, [a] pretty substantial injury with the shoulder [before he] came into camp," Shaw commented.
"We all know he set the tone right away. He's come into the exhibition series and been ultra consistent, hard, intelligent."
Chan, who played minor hockey at the Burnaby Winter Club, is the 14th Rivermen team captain in franchise history.
A Burnaby native, the 2005-born, 5'8" 165 lb. left-handed forward has appeared in 115 games, scored 11 goals, and assisted on 26 over three seasons, one with the Vernon Vipers and two with the Rivermen.
After playing the 2021-22 regular season for Vernon, Vipers traded Chan to the Langley Rivermen in exchange for future considerations.
At the time, Head Coach and GM of the Vipers Jason McKee cited "personal reasons," indicating the move was at Chan's request.
"By making this trade, it allows Tyler to live at home and continue to play hockey at the junior level," McKee said.
Chan and his teammates will have their regular season home opener this Sunday, Sept. 22, at 2:30 p.m. as they host the Prince George Spruce Kings.
Festivities for families begin at noon, with food, face painting, live music, interactive games with local community groups and so more, team co-owner Dana Matheson said.
"We anticipate a sellout crowd,"Matheson told the Langley Advance Times.
