AUSTIN POGANSKI NAMED ROADRUNNERS CAPTAIN
Tucson, Arizona – Tucson Roadrunners Head Coach Steve Potvin has announced that forward Austin Poganski will serve as Captain and defenseman Kevin Connauton and forwards Andrew Agozzino, Ben McCartney, and Travis Barron will serve as Alternate Captains this season.
The Roadrunners open the season with a two-game series against the Colorado Eagles on Friday and Saturday. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. for both games. Tucson looks to continue its season-opening win streak, having won its last six dating back to 2018. Keep up with all the action LIVE on AHLTV on FLO HOCKEY!
“Throughout the years, I’ve learned a lot from some really elite captains,” Poganski said. “And it’s not just one individual here; it’s a group of guys. We have a great leadership group with (Andrew) Agozzino, (Kevin) Connauton, (Travis) Baron, (Ben)McCartney, and there are so many others who are on the same wavelength. We have the group to do it this year, and it starts with our first game here in Colorado.”
Poganski, 28, enters his second season with the Roadrunners and scored an AHL career-high 14 goals with Tucson last year after joining the team on a PTO. He spent the 2022-23 season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds and helped lead them to game seven of the Calder Cup Finals. During the postseason run, he had two goals and two assists in 24 games before the team was defeated in game seven by the Hershey Bears. Over his career, Poganski has played 6 NHL games for the St. Louis Blues (2019-2021) and 16 for the Winnipeg Jets in the 2021-22 season. In 301 AHL games, he has 51 goals, 101 assists, and 152 points across his career with the San Antonio Rampage, Manitoba Moose, Coachella Valley, and Tucson. Poganski was selected in the fourth round (110th overall) by the Blues in the 2014 draft and played four years for the University of North Dakota.
Connauton, 34, returns for his second stint with the organization. He played 185 games with the Arizona Coyotes from 2015-19. This will be his 15th season in professional hockey, and he has played 745 games, 360 in the NHL and 385 in the AHL, after being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He made his AHL debut with the Manitoba Moose and has since played for the Chicago Wolves, Texas Stars, Tucson, Colorado, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Ontario Reign. With Ontario last year, his plus-18 rating was first amongst defensemen on the team.
Agozzino, 33, enters his 13th professional season and first with Tucson. He signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Roadrunners this offseason after a banner 2023-24 campaign. He finished seventh in the AHL in scoring last year with 26 goals, 38 assists, and 64 points in 72 games with the San Diego Gulls. The three-time AHL All-Star is no stranger to the responsibilities that come with being a leader. He has been a captain or alternate captain for eight seasons through his AHL career and was the San Jose Barracuda’s team winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the San Jose community during the 2022-23 season.
McCartney, 23, enters his fifth season with the Roadrunners. The Manitoba native was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the seventh round (204th overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He started the next season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL before moving up to the AHL, recording a goal and an assist in his professional debut with Tucson on May 8, 2021. The following season, he scored a hat trick in Tucson’s 2021-2022 Home Opener against Texas and made his NHL debut on Nov. 5 for the Coyotes. McCartney finished the year with a career-high 18 goals, 17 assists, 35 points, and 57 games played. Last season, he tallied 22 points (six goals and 16 assists) and served as an alternate captain for the first time in the AHL.
Barron, 26, enters his fourth season in Tucson, eighth overall in the AHL. The Colorado Avalanche picked Barron in the seventh round (191st overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft after his third season with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL. He was Ottawa’s team captain during his final two seasons in juniors. He played 56 AHL games in Colorado’s organization over four seasons before joining the Roadrunners in 2021. He tallied a career-high 12 goals, 13 assists, and 25 points in his first year with Tucson. Last year, he scored his first career hat-trick against San Jose on Dec. 12 and played a career-high 68 games. Overall, Barron has 29 goals, 33 assists, and 62 points in 182 games with the Roadrunners.
Following this weekend’s road trip, Tucson will kick off a four-game homestand at Tucson Arena. The home opener against the Texas Stars will be on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased using the link here.
