DUBUQUE, IA - The Dubuque Fighting Saints have named Jake Sondreal as the team's next captain. The second-year Saint will serve as the team's leader along with four alternate captains.

When wearing red, Seamus Powell and James Reeder will wear the "A" while Lucas St. Louis and Fisher Scott will sport the "A" on their white sweaters.

In his second season as head coach of the Fighting Saints, Kirk MacDonald is ecstatic about this year's leadership group. He says good leadership groups have been a staple for every great team he's ever been a part of.

"The returning guys have set the standard early," MacDonald said. "Sondy has come in from day one and established himself as a leader."

All four members of the leadership group bring prior USHL experience. Sondreal and Reeder are the team's top-two returning point scorers. The three defensemen, St. Louis, Powell and Scott, all are a steady force on the blue line for a Saints D-corps that is fully-committed to play Division I hockey outside of Powell who has returned to the USHL after playing last season with Boston College.

"I feel really honored to be the captain and a leader [of this team]," said Sondreal. "I'm definitely a 'lead-by-example' kind of guy. We [the leadership group] all went through it together last year and we have experience. We're all super close and communicate every day."

"These guys have done a great job," MacDonald added. "The way they handle themselves in practice, they hold guys accountable, their work ethic away from the ice and in the gym, it's exciting. They forced us to have a larger leadership group."

For the Fighting Saints, it will be a full-group effort in search of a sixth Clark Cup, but these five players will be integral pieces of the 2023-24 Fighting Saints.