The Little Caps are pleased to announce that Director of Player Development Lyon Messier will return to coach the Bantam Major (2005) squad for the 2019-20 season.

Messier grew up in the Washington area, and played youth hockey with the Northern Virginia Ice Dogs and the Little Caps.  He then played junior hockey for the Texas Tornado in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), where he won a national championship, and later with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He played major junior hockey in Canada for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) and Erie Otters (OHL), before moving on to play pro hockey for the New Mexico Scorpions of the Central Hockey League (CHL).  He was invited to the New York Rangers main camp, played an AHL game, and then went to the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) where he won the Kelly Cup with the South Carolina Stingrays. "I feel confident my experience can help our players,” Messier says.  

Hockey Director Matt Thomas has been extremely pleased with what he's seen from Messier in the past year, saying "Lyon is a true professional-- you can see his respect and passion for the game in how he prepares and goes about his business. For a kid in this area still learning about the skills, tactics, and mindset of high-level hockey, I can't think of a better Head Coach than him."