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Hockey 9/29/2025 12:00:00 PM

Four Wildcats Selected as Team Captains for 2025-26

Ewart and Ardanaz will both wear the captain's 'C' in 25/26

MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey team has selected four student-athletes to serve as captains for the 2025-26 season. Tynan Ewart and Nicolas Ardanaz will don the 'C', and Caiden Gault and Zane Demsey will both wear an 'A'.

"We really like our leadership group and the experience they bring, and they've done a great job in building our culture over the course of the last six weeks," says head coach Dave Shyiak, who is entering his second season behind the Wildcat bench. "With 16 new faces, our captains have led by example on and off the ice, and it doesn't surprise our coaching staff that the players voted for Tynan, Nick, Caiden, and Zane. They all have an understanding of what our standards and expectations are on a day-to-day basis."

Ewart, a junior defenseman from Duncan, British Columbia, enters his second season of captaincy after wearing an 'A' last season. A standout returner on the blueline, Ewart was one of just three Wildcat skaters to play in all 34 games, and he led Wildcat defensemen in assists, points, and blocks, while pacing all skaters in time on ice per game, averaging just shy of 25 minutes a game during last season's campaign. A two-time CCHA Defenseman of the Week, Ewart will enter his second season with the Wildcats, but his third season under head coach Shyiak, as Ewart was a freshman at St. Cloud during Shyiak's last season behind the bench with the Huskies.

Ardanaz is a senior defenseman from Surrey, British Columbia, who joined the Wildcats last season after two years at RPI. The blueliner has skated in 64 games the last three seasons, including a career-high 26 with the 'Cats last season, where he was fourth on the team in blocks and averaged 19 minutes of ice time. Ardanaz was also selected as an AHCA Krampade All-American Scholar.

A native of Oakbank, Manitoba, Gault is a senior forward for the Wildcats after spending the previous three seasons with the Ferris State Bulldogs. Gault was a Hobey Baker nominee after he posted a career-best 25 points in a career-high 36 games played, including pacing the Bulldogs and finishing fifth in the CCHA with 15 goals, and second in the conference with five game-winning goals. Gault, a 6-1 left-shot forward, brings 75 games of collegiate experience to the Wildcats.

Dempsey is a native of Harrison Township, Michigan, and joins the Wildcats after spending three seasons with Miami Ohio of the NCHC. In three seasons with the RedHawks, the left-shot defenseman skated in 79 games, was recognized as a Krampade/AHCA All-American Scholar in 2024, and is a three-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and NCHC Academic All-Conference team selection.

The Wildcats open the season with a weekend series on the road against the University of Massachusetts, a team that knocked out the University of Minnesota before losing 2-1 to the eventual national champion, Western Michigan, at the Fargo Regional in last year's NCAA Tournament. After a trip to Ohio State the following weekend, NMU returns home for a pair of weekend series with Colorado College and Michigan State. Fans can purchase tickets here.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Nicolas Ardanaz: D; 5' 10"; Senior

#6 Tynan Ewart: D; 6' 0"; Junior

#9 Zane Demsey: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#16 Caiden Gault: F; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#3 Nicolas Ardanaz
: 5' 10"; Senior
: D

#6 Tynan Ewart
: 6' 0"; Junior
: D

#9 Zane Demsey
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#16 Caiden Gault
: 6' 0"; Senior
: F