WLC Announces Leadership Team Additions

The Washington Little Capitals are pleased to announce three new members of the WLC Leadership Team.

Lyon Messier has been promoted to Associate Hockey Director and will be responsible for WLC Hockey Operations focused on player performance.

Brad Kozstrebski has been promoted to Director of Player Development and will oversee overall development of our players throughout their WLC careers.

Bryan Reel has been promoted to Director of Player Advancement and will be responsible for player advancement within the WLC and from the WLC to junior and college ranks.

These three young leaders will assist the WLC Directors with the day-to-day operations of the club, focusing on interacting with players and families within their respective disciplines. All three coaches will also be involved in overarching programs such as Player Evaluations, the Coach Education Program and Town Hall meetings.

“I was a Washington Little Caps player growing up- and have been committed to the WLC organization for over 10 years after playing minor pro,” said Messier. “I am incredibly humbled and excited to hold this new position. Our Leadership Team wants to build on a solid foundation to make something even better.”

Kozstrebski and Reel share Lyon’s excitement for this new challenge. Coach Brad offered, “I am excited to take on this role of helping our players get better. Our coaching approach is to create a challenging and competitive environment at the rink to help each player in our organization become the best version of themselves. By getting better every day we will make sure each player grows as a player and a person and has a positive experience with the Washington Little Caps.”

“I am excited to be taking a larger role within the Washington Little Caps organization,” added Coach Reel. “I look forward to building relationships with players across all teams, ensuring they are advancing through the club and, when the time is right, celebrating their jump to the next level.”

Messier added, “growing the program is about families feeling a part of something bigger than themselves and believing in each other. We want to continue to develop the WLC culture- that is what leads to championships, team camaraderie, and passion.”

“This upcoming season you’ll see a culture that celebrates weekend success as a direct result of what happens during the week,” said Coach Reel. “Coaches will work directly with one another to cultivate new ideas as we advance our players.”

Culture is a common theme among the newest members of the Leadership Team. “We will be dedicating more classroom time throughout the year to building and maintaining a strong culture within each team using inputs from all WLC coaches, WLC Leaders, and our strength coach/trained sports psychologist Ify Achebe,” offers Kozstrebski. “Our new Leadership Team is dedicated to bringing positive change to this organization to make the Little Caps the best place to play. We could not be more excited to get started next season.”

“Our team is dedicated to making the Little Caps the premier Tier 1 organization in the area, says Coach Reel. “We’re focused on creating a pipeline for players to develop and advance through WLC and beyond. Let’s Go Caps!”