Senior defenseman Max Burkholder has been named team captain of the Colorado College hockey team for the 2026-27 season, while Owen Beckner, Drew Montgomery, Bret Link and Riley Stuart will serve as assistant captains, according to head coach Kris Mayotte.
 
Burkholder, from Chaska, Minn., will wear the 'C' for the second consecutive season after playing in only three games in 2025-26 due to injury. He was a second-team all-NCHC selection in 2024-25 after tying for the team lead with 20 assists and tying for second with 26 points. That season, Burkholder finished second on the team with three power-play goals and blocked 40 shots last season.
 
Beckner, a junior forward from Victoria, B.C., tied for the team lead in scoring with 23 points and assists with 15 last season. He also paced the team in scoring as a freshman with 27 points, the most by a CC freshman since Scott Swanson had 48 in 1996-97. Beckner, who will wear an 'A' for the second consecutive season, was named to the Spengler Cup team last season, but was unable to participate.

Montgomery, a senior forward from Grand Forks, N.D., also was an assistant captain in 2025-26, when he scored 16 points (8g,8a) and tied for second on the team with eight goals. He tied his career high of three points with two goals and an assist in 4-1 victory at St. Cloud State (2-13).
 
Link, a senior forward from Anchorage, Alaska, is the team's career active leading scorer with 53 points (18g,35a), including 17 (7g,10a) last season. He tied for second on the team with a pair of power-play goals and was third with 82 shots and equaled his career-high with three points (1g,2a) in the 4-2 victory at Air Force.  
 
Stuart, a senior forward from Phoenix, Az., posted career highs of four goals, four assists, eight points and 33 games played last season as a junior. He had a career-high two points (1g,1a), including his first game-winning goal, in a 3-2 victory over Providence.
 
"This leadership group is comprised of an incredible group of young men," Mayotte said. "They have been through a lot, both personally and as a collective unit, and every single time they've been tested, they have responded by showing exactly what it means to be a Tiger. What makes them so special is their versatility as leaders; they have the presence to speak up when needed, but more importantly, back it up with their daily actions. That authenticity is exactly why they earn the absolute respect of every single person in our locker room."
  
Colorado College opens the 2026-27 season with a weekend series against 10^th-ranked UMass, Oct. 2-3, at Ed Robson Arena.