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2015-2016 WLC COACHES ANNOUNCED

By DJ, 04/03/15, 1:45PM EDT

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2015-16 WLC Coaches Announced

The Washington Little Capitals are pleased to announce the coaching staff for the 2015-16 hockey season.

U18 Midget Coaches - (1997-1998)

Gary Pouliot: Head Coach U18-Gary Pouliot joins the Little Caps from the Ashburn Xtreme.  Gary has coached in the Xtreme program for eleven years (2004-2008, 2010-14), guiding eight teams  to the prestigious USA Hockey National Championships (2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).  Gary graduated from the Univerisity of New Hampshire with a bachelor's degree in physical education. Upon graduation, Gary served as an Infantry Officer in the United States Marine Corps for five years and then went on to serve as a Special Agent in the FBI for twenty-seven years.  Gary is a USA Hockey Level 5 certified coach.

U-18 Assistant Coach- Bio coming soon

U16 Midget Coaches - (1999-2000)

Doug Plocki: Head Coach U16 National- Doug Plocki returns for his seventh season with the Little Caps, and third as head coach of the WLC U16 National Team.  Plocki is a Pittsburgh native who began coaching in 1991 as the State College Youth Ice Hockey Association Pee Wee Head Coach.  He then moved on to coach at his high school alma mater and worked with the Pittsburgh Stars Tier-1 youth hockey program as a goaltending instructor.  Plocki began coaching in the DC area in 2006 with the Kettler Capitals Iceplex youth program.  He helped coach Kettler's Tier-1 Development Camps beginning in 2008 before joining the Little Caps 2009.  In the past six seasons, Plocki has helped win the Tier-1 Elite Hockey League Atlantic Division Title, 4 consecutive PVAHA titles, and 2 Southeast District Titles to advance to the USA Hockey National Championships.  The 2014-15 U16 National squad captured both the regular season and league championships in the NJPHL.  Plocki is a USA Hockey Level-5 certified coach.

Vic Hugo: Assistant Coach U16 National- Vic Hugo returns to the Little Caps for his second season with the U16 Program.  Coach Vic has a prolific coaching career in the area, having coached every level from Mite to college.  He began coaching in 1986 in the CBHL and became a coaching instructor for USAHockey.  In 1988 he moved on to coach the University of Maryland (ACHA Division I) for 9 seasons where he consistently finished in the top 20.  He spent the next 2 years as an assistant with the Little Capitals Junior program.  Vic coached in the Kettler Rooftop program since its inception in 2006, before moving to the Northern Virginia Ice Dogs where he coached for 3 years as an assistant on the Peewee team.  The Little Caps are excited to have Vic in our program sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm of the game with our players.  Vic is a USA Hockey Level 4 certified coach.

Brad Surdam, Jr.: Head Coach U16 American- Brad Surdam, Jr. returns to the Little Caps as Head Coach of the American team for the second consecutive season.  Brad comes from Lorton, Virginia and has played at all levels of hockey in the Washington area, including the NOVA Ice Dogs, Reston Raiders, Washington Little Capitals, Washington Jr. Capitals, and Washington Jr. Nationals.  He attended Lebanon Valley College (NCAA Div. III) where he led the team in scoring each year and was appointed captain his senior year. Brad also made the Deans List 7 consecutive semesters.  After his collegiate career, Brad pursued a professional career with the Cape Cod Bluefins of the Federal Hockey League.  Brad began coaching with the Little Caps bantam Major team during the 2013-2014 season.  Coaching in the Surdam family bloodline. Brad’s father has been a big part of the Little Caps program and has coached several WLC teams over the years.

Brad Surdam, Sr.: Assistant Coach U16 American- Brad W. Surdam is a hockey "lifer" having spent most of the past 40+ years involved in hockey either playing, coaching, officiating and/or involvement with various association boards. Brad grew up playing locally for the Capitol Boys Hockey club. He has coached as both the Head and Asst. Coach at all age/skill levels from Learn to Play Hockey programs up to the WLC U16 program. Brad returned to the WLC program last year as an assistant coach on the U16 American team after taken a coaching hiatus to watch the last several years of his son's playing career. Brad resides with his wife Robin in Lorton, VA. 

Kyle Langdon: Assistant Coach U16 American- Kyle Langdon returns to the Little Capitals Midget program for the second consecutive year. A native of Rochester, NY, Langdon played his college hockey with SUNY Geneseo.  Langdon went on to play professional hockey with the Adirondack and Grand Rapids in the UHL after college. Langdon has previously coached at the Pee-Wee, Bantam, and Midget age levels with the Little Capitals. Langdon resides in Arlington, VA.  Kyle is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach.

WLC Goalie Coaches

Brent Johnson: Goalie Coach- Brent Johnson returns to the Little Caps as our Goaltending Instructor.  Johnson played 12 seasons in the NHL.  Originally from Farmington, MI, Johnson played junior hockey for Owen Sound in the OHL before being drafted by St. Louis in 1995.  Johnson began his NHL career in St. Louis before moving to Phoenix and then the Washington Capitals.  Johnson finished his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012.   Johnson hails from a hockey-rich family, his father Bob Johnson also played goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and his grandfather Sid Abel is in the NHL Hall of Fame.  In addition to coaching the Little Caps, Johnson covers the Washington Capitals providing analysis for Comcast Sports Network

Travis Russell: Goalie Coach- Travis Russell returns to the Little Caps as our Goaltending Instructor.  Travis is a native Vermonter that grew up playing for the Essex Youth Hockey Association and then played at Essex High School. Travis played his senior year of high school at The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut. He was selected to represent USA Hockey twice for the US Under-17 (2000) and US Under-18 (2001) Teams in the Five Nations Cup in Europe. Travis went on to play four years of Division I hockey at the University of Vermont.  Travis has coached with the Washington Little Capitals organization for the last five seasons.

 

 

Bantam Major Coaches (2001)

Lyon Messier- Lyon is excited to return home to where it all began. A Northern Virginia native and former Washington Little Capital, Lyon has played across the US and Canada in recent years. In 2008, after participating in the NY Rangers Main Camp, Lyon helped the ECHL South Carolina Sting Rays win the Kelly Cup. In recent years, Lyon has both played for and coached the NAHL Texas Tornados, including serving as Head Coach for the U 16-18 team in the 2010-11 season. Lyon served as Head Coach of the Connecticut Wolf Pack U16 team in 2014. Lyon is proud to have helped several young players reach their dream of playing Division 1 College Hockey.

Nick Carso- returns as Bantam Major  coach for the Washington Little Capitals. 2014-2015 Bantam Major team finished strong defeating Team Maryland 5-1 in the PVAHA championship.  Nicks teams have advanced to the Southeast Districts for three consecutive years. Nick served as the Bantam Major Head coach for the previous two  seasons.  Head coach of the WLC Bantam Minor in the 2012-13 season. 2010-2012 Carso was an assistant coach with both the Bantam Minor and Major teams. Prior to that he was the head coach of the Washington Junior Nationals. In 2004 he coached the Jr Nationals to the AJHL Championship. Carso is a former Little Caps player from squirt through midget. As a player he participated in USA Hockey Nationals as a midget and a junior player, and won the MJHL Junior B Championship in 1996 with the Jr Capitals. After Little Caps, Carso went to Westminster Prep School and NCAA Division I UMASS-Lowell in Hockey East. He also participated as a player in the USA Hockey Select camps in Lake Placid. Carso is A USA Hockey LeveL 4 certified coach and resides in Arlington, VA.

 

Bantam Minor Coach- (2002)

Tom Morrissey - returns to coach the Washington Little Caps 2002 team. Tom began his hockey career playing youth hockey in Upstate New York for the Skaneateles Youth Hockey program. He played high school for Skaneateles helping lead the team to consecutive Sectional Championships and the New York State Division 1 Championship in 1983. After high school, he played for Elmira College. He was named team MVP for the 1986-87 season and as Captain during the 1987-88 season, helped lead the team to an ECAC Championship and NCAA Division III runner-up. Finished with college, Tom was asked to play in the Netherlands and spent the 1988-89 season playing and coaching two youth teams in the city of Leeuwarden. 

In 1996, Tom started coaching roller hockey for many seasons before getting back in to coaching ice hockey in 2008. He spent one season as Assistant Coach for the 2001 Ashburn Xtreme followed by two seasons as Head Coach for the 2002 Xtreme team. His teams have been highly successful. Coach Morrissey's 2002's had  very successful 2014-2015 season.  Notable achievements included being a finalist for both the AYHL championship and the NHL Cup and tournament champions at the President's Day Tournament in Boston, MA. His philosophy is simple: Play intelligent, disciplined, hardworking hockey as a team and you have an opportunity to be successful. 

Ray Furr- Ray is originally from Woodbridge Virginia, and grew up playing for the Washington Little Capitals. He played his junior hockey for the Washington Junior Nationals in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League. Ray went on to play four years of NCAA Div III Hockey for Nichols College in Dudley Massachusetts. While at Nichols, he earned his MBA in accounting and finance. During college, Ray spent his summers as a head power skating instructor and camp counselor in various cities around the US, with the Sport International Hockey Academy. Now a USA hockey level 1 coach, Ray enjoys coaching youth hockey skills sessions, lessons, and clinics. He is also very excited to begin his second season as an assistant coach for the 2002 Washington Little Capitals. 

 

PeeWee Major Coach - (2003)

Andrew Ansell- is going into his fourth year with the Washington Little Capitals Organization. Andrew played his youth hockey in the Northern Virginia area, starting with the Ashburn Xtreme and working his way up through the Junior Capitals to the Junior Nationals. After he finished high school he moved to Canada to play Junior hockey for the Fort Erie Metors. Andrew played for three seasons with the Metors wearing the C on his sweater for the last two years. Andrew is very excited to bring his energy and enthusiasm to the Little Caps. 2012-13 season Andrew and coach Carmack guided the Bantam majors to a PVAHA Championship and advancing to the SE District Championship game.  Coach Ansell guided the 2003 Pee Wee team to a successful season and  made the AYHL playoffs that went deep in the tournament.

Jim Carsten- returns as  WLC coach for the 2003 Peewee Minor team. Jim who has played hockey his entire life. He played high school, for Robbinsdale Armstrong Senior High MN and was a team captain. Jim went on to play for the University of St. Thomas for 4 years, being named the team captain his senior year. His team advanced to the National Championship Tournament 3 times. Jim is a USA Hockey Level 4 certified coach. He has coached several years of travel hockey teams in the DC area, including 5 years for the Reston Raiders Hockey Club. Jim Enthusiasm for the game and experience will play a pivotal role in developing players in the WLC program.

PeeWee Minor Coach - (2004)

Flip Collins- Flip comes to the Washington Little Caps organization after four years successful seasons with the Ashburn Xtreme.During his involvement with the Xtreme, Collins guided the U16 AA #2 teams for birth years 1995-96 and 1998-99 to the PVAHA state championship games. All four of his Xtreme teams have reached the CBHL post seasons.Collins is now entering his third year as the hockey director and head coach and Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. In his first season he guided the Knights to state semis finals and this past season they played in the NVSHL state championship game in 2015, in just his second season behind the bench.  Collins grew up in Springfield Mass and played prep hockey at Trinity Pawling Prep School in Pawling, New York.

Peewee Minor(2004) Assistant Coach- Bio coming soon

Certified Strength Coach and Skills Coaches

Additional Coaches Bios coming soon. Check back for the exciting news!