On Sept. 30, head coach Casey Jones ’90 named junior forward Ryan Walsh, senior defenseman Jack O’Brien and junior forward Jonathan Castagna as the men’s hockey’s captains for the upcoming season.
Walsh, O’Brien and Castagna will anchor a team undergoing a transition: not just at the helm, with the end of former head coach Mike Schafer ’86’s decades-long career, but on the bench. The ten-man graduating class included key pieces of the 2024-2025 roster, and Dalton Bancroft’s ’26 early departure for the NHL struck another blow to the limited lineup.
However, the depth of returning talent, potential of incoming rookies and overall program strength means Cornell can never truly be undervalued. Having steadfast student-athlete leadership during a period of turnover can only be a plus for this new era of Cornell hockey.
“Your hardest workers are wearing your letters. Boy, it goes a long way, right?” Jones said. “And I think those guys, they don’t take any days off, so that’ll really help us. It helps our young guys too. It’ll help us a lot.”
Captain: Junior forward Ryan Walsh
Walsh is an offensive powerhouse that set the pace for Cornell last season, especially during its improbable postseason run, during which he scored in three consecutive games against Clarkson, Michigan State University and Boston University.
He led the team in goals (17) and points (31) and posted three game-deciding and three power play goals — but for Walsh, the greatest contributions aren’t reflected in the numbers.
“There’s definitely guys who lead vocally and by example. I’ve always been a lead by example more than a vocal kind of a leader,” Walsh said. “I feel like I’ve been a leader on the ice for a while now, but I’m really trying to focus on being a vocal leader. Being a captain, you kind of have to do some things that are uncomfortable for the betterment of the team.”
Walsh is basing his captaincy strategy on the mentorship of Kyle Penney ’25, a two-year captain for the Red whose junior year leadership included welcoming 10 incoming freshmen to the team. This year, there are 14 newcomers — a responsibility that Walsh isn’t taking lightly.
“Having [Penney] and other guys be such good leaders my first years kind of showed me a lot on how to be a leader [and] how to grow up,” Walsh said. “How they helped me is how I want to help the new guys who are coming in.”
Alternate captains: Senior defenseman Jack O’Brien and junior forward Jonathan Castagna
O'Brien and Castagna will be Walsh’s right — or, more accurately, left — hand men. The announcement of Castagna, a dependable presence at the forefront of the team’s offense, as an alternate captain would not be much of a surprise to the outside observer. O’Brien, however, has an impact on the team unquantifiable on the stats sheet.
Castagna had a breakout freshman season, logging 25 points across all 35 games. Last year, he secured 15 points and had a 58.7 percent faceoff winning percentage. Prior to Cornell, he spent two seasons studying and playing at St. Andrew’s College in Ontario, where he was a captain for his second season on the team.
O’Brien played in 10 games in his first two years with the Red before seeing action in 30 last season. The defenseman quickly became a fan favorite at Lynah Rink, inspiring a new chant among the Lynah Faithful.
“Jonny [Castagna] and Ryan are alphas on the ice,” Jones said. “They’re two high-end players that work really hard and, you know, play the game the right way. But for Jack, I was excited for him to get that opportunity, with the [lack of] minutes. So that says a lot about him as a person.”
Castagna and O’Brien, like Walsh, were selected through an unrushed process, during which Jones valued the input of the returning roster. The three forerunners emerged as a clear coalescence of Jones’ observations as a coach and their peers’ opinions.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with both of them to manage this year,” Walsh said. “I think we have a great relationship, us three. We’ve had really good communication with the coaching staff. That was what was nice about having Jonesy [Casey Jones] as the associate head coach last year — we were able to build such a good relationship with him before he became the head coach.”
Alexis Rogers is the sports editor on the 143rd editorial board. She is in the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts & Sciences, and she can be reached at arogers@cornellsun.com.
