He was a fan favourite in Kelowna and he’s once again assumed that role in Seattle.
Conner Bruggen-Cate was part of the blockbuster deal that the Kelowna Rockets made with the Seattle Thunderbirds at the 2019 WHL bantam draft in May.
Conner Bruggen-Cate celebrations! #thunderbirds #hockey #hockeylights #Seattle #sports #whl pic.twitter.com/wZI4XMuDA5
— Brian Liesse (@BrianLiesse) October 3, 2019
The deal saw Dillon Hamaliuk, Jake Lee and Cole Schwebius all traded to the Rockets, the first major deal to try and stock up for a run to the Memorial Cup.
Today, Bruggen-Cate was named captain of the Thunderbirds, the 38th captain in franchise history.
🥅 🏒 NEWS | Conner Bruggen-Cate Named Team Captain
— Seattle Thunderbirds (@SeattleTbirds) January 15, 2020
🔗 https://t.co/J3pT3O5BI1 pic.twitter.com/XqahGFLlmK
“We are fortunate that we have a large group of guys that are able to lead,” said Bill La Forge, Thunderbirds GM.
“Conner has shown that he is right at the top of that group. Players, young and old, look up to him and he has shown great leadership all season.”
Conner Bruggen-Cate brings the puck up ice. #thunderbirds #hockey #hockeylights #Seattle #sports #whl pic.twitter.com/kTRTumcHDf
— Brian Liesse (@BrianLiesse) September 26, 2019
The 20-year-old has 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points so far this season and is currently on an impressive eight-game point streak.
He replaces Matthew Wedman as the team’s captain, who ironically was traded to Kelowna in early December.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
