Joe Pendenza Named Everblades Captain

ESTERO, Fla. – Florida Everblades President Craig Brush, alongside General Manager and Head Coach Brad Ralph, announced the club officially named Joe Pendenza as the 20th captain of the Florida Everblades. In addition, Oliver Chau and Logan Lambdin will serve as assistant captains at home, while Bobo Carpenter and Riese Zmolek will wear “A’s” for road games.

“Joe brings a wealth of experience and uses that to lead our team,” Coach Ralph said. “He’s a quiet leader who prefers to let his game do the talking. His versatility and impact during the games makes him an invaluable player to the team and our leadership group. It’s been a fun journey to watch Joe grow and succeed both on and off the ice.”

Pendenza, 33, is in his fifth season in Southwest Florida. The Wilmington, Massachusetts, native leads the Everblades in assists (18), points (30), and plus-minus (+13) this season, and sits second in goals (12). The two-time Kelly Cup Champion – both with Florida – has served as an assistant captain over the past three seasons and will now become a team captain for the first time in his professional career. Pendenza sits near the top of the club’s record books in most categories: he is sixth in all-time Everblades goals (94), seventh in assists (140) and points (234), and ninth in games played (264) with the franchise.

Chau, 26, is in his second season with the Everblades. After winning the Kelly Cup with Florida in his rookie year last season, the NCAA National Champion from UMass has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 35 games this year. He will wear a letter at home along with fellow second-year Blade Logan Lambdin. Lambdin, 28, joined the Everblades at the trade deadline last season and helped guide the club to their third Kelly Cup in franchise history. The Wyandotte, MI, local has seven goals and nine assists across 29 games in his first full season in Estero.

Carpenter, 27, has already spent most of this season as an alternate captain. The third-year Everblade leads the squad in goals with 16 markers this season. Zmolek, 27, was the captain of the Iowa Heartlanders last season. The Rochester, Minnesota, born-blueliner now wears a letter for a fourth consecutive team dating back to his junior days.

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