Aston,PA — On Wednesday, Little Flyers Eastern Hockey League Premier Head Coach Mark Catron, announced the naming of Ryan Sharkey as the team’s captain for the 2017-18 season.  The 1998 birth year forward from Lansdowne, PA is in his first year with the Little Flyers EHLP team “being the first year in this league for this team I needed someone with experience at this level and Ryan certainly has that.  Coming in we have visions of him playing at the next level which is something we need in that locker room” said Head Coach Mark Catron.  On coming to the decision of Sharkey as the Captain, Catron didn’t think it was that tough of a decision, “it was a pretty easy decision once the season got going to see who our leaders were both in the locker room and on the ice.  Being one of the few 98s on this very young team, it was an easy decision for me but a great one as well.  Ryan is the right guy for us as our leader.” 

            Sharkey is currently second in the EHL Premier league in scoring with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 total points.  Sharkey only trails teammate and line mate Kyle Scott in the EHLP scoring race. “This means a lot to me, it’s a great honor that coach has named me as the captain of this team” said Sharkey upon being named Captain.  He continued “I’m the oldest guy in this locker room; we have a lot of young guys on this team so coach sees leadership qualities in me that can help us succeed.  I’m going to continue to go out there and play my best, hopefully that’ll be a good example for our guys and help them not only this year but in the future.”  Sharkey’s 17 assists are currently tops in the EHLP.  His 16 goals currently rank him 3rd in the league; no goal was bigger than the game winner he scored in overtime against the Jr. Rangers in Boston on October 22nd.  

            When asked if Sharkey’s new role will come with new expectations from his coach, Catron offered this insight “No, I don’t want to put that on him.  I want him to continue to lead by example, his work ethic, show up on time and be ready to go.  Some of these guys in our locker room are just coming out of youth hockey or high school programs which is a big jump to juniors in a lot of ways.  Naming Ryan was for his leadership on the ice not because I need him to go out there and be a cheerleader or anything like that.”  To Sharkey, the role as leader has to be a balance of both vocal and action, “I think that what you say in the locker room to the team down 2-1 heading into the third period is just as important as what your actions on the ice show.  You can’t just say things to get the boys going, you need to go out there and back it up with your play every single game” said Sharkey.

            Through the Little Flyers Premier teams first six games they had a 2-4 record.  Now, 18 games into the season they are currently 11-7 tied for second place in the EHLP’s South Conference.  The improvement over the last 12 games has the Little Flyers captain optimistic about what the future holds for his team “we have a really good group here, off the ice we get along pretty good and we’ve really picked up our play as of late.  We need to keep putting in the work during the week and get wins against the teams that are close to us in the standings.  I’ve seen some guys really improve as the season has gone on, so I think we are going to get better throughout” said Sharkey.  

            Sharkey and his Little Flyers team will hit the road for the second Eastern Hockey League Premier Showcase of the season this upcoming weekend.  On Sunday, they face-off against the Renegades for the third game in a row.  Then on Monday they will matchup against the Jersey Wildcats.