Aston, PA -- On Wednesday September 7, 2016 Little Flyers Eastern Hockey League Head Coach & General Manager Rocky Russo announced Forward Peter Hatton (Double Oak, TX) and Defenseman Chris Best (Downingtown, PA) have been named Co-Captains for the 2016-17 Eastern Hockey League Season.  Great leadership can produce amazing results for a team over the course of the season, on the flip side poor leadership can turn a promising team into a nightmare.  Coach Russo and his staff know the importance of leadership and the seeds for Hatton and Best’s new roles were planted at the end of the Little Flyers 2015-16 campaign.  Russo explained, “When we did exit interviews last year I spoke with the outgoing veterans and leaders, specifically Austin Kelly and Oleg Potemkin and the thought process from them was unanimous in the search for this year’s captains, they saw qualities displayed by Peter and Chris throughout the year on and off the ice that made them great choices.”

     Peter Hatton, a 5’11” 1996 birth year forward from Double Oak, Texas enters his second season with the Little Flyers organization.  Hatton’s rookie regular season with the team saw him finish in the top 10 on the team in both Assists (25) and points (29) while playing on both the power play and penalty kill units throughout the year.  Coach Russo likes what he’s seen out of his 2nd year forward heading into the regular season “He’s come back to us bigger, stronger, faster, more mature, more prepared and has a chip on his shoulder because we weren’t able to get where we wanted to go last year in regards to winning a championship.”  The Little Flyers will need to rely on Hatton and his experiences gained last season as he is one of only four returning forwards to the Little Flyers EHL team this season.  On being named co-captain Hatton had this to say, “This is a big honor for me to be selected as one of the leaders of this great organization; I want to be a part of continuing the legacy that has been established over the past three seasons in the EHL”.

     Chris Best, a 5’10” 1996 birth year defenseman from Downingtown, PA enters his third full season with the Little Flyers organization.  Best, was an iron man last season for the Little Flyers on the blue line, playing on the top defensive pairing in all 50 of the Little Flyers games during the regular season and playoffs.  Coach Russo couldn’t be happier with the growth shown by Chris throughout his time with the Little Flyers organization, “Chris is a veteran of this club for a number of years now, to watch his progression and his maturation process from the time he was 16 years old to a 20 year old is impressive.  He’s gone from being a quiet kid that didn’t say much to a vocal leader that not only leads with intensity on the ice but in the gym as well” said Russo.  Best will lead the defensive unit that will return four players from the 2015-16 regular season champion Little Flyers.  Chris expressed what being named co-captain means to him,  “This is definitely the greatest honor I’ve had playing junior hockey, there is a lot of responsibility that goes with wearing the “C” and I’m ready to work hard and build this brotherhood with my team.” 

     Russo, Hatton and Best all have their sights set on the same goal for the 2016-17 season.  “It’s important that we are all moving in the right direction as a unit so we have a shot at the Championship that we unfortunately didn’t capture last year” said Hatton.  The Little Flyers begin their quest for the EHL Championship on the road against division rival Philadelphia Revolution on Sunday September 18th with the puck scheduled to drop at 11:00 AM.