SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Springfield Thunderbirds today announced their captains for the 2021-22 season. Defenseman Tommy Cross (Simsbury, Conn.) will serve as team captain, becoming the third man to don the "C" in Thunderbirds team history, joining Brent Regner and Paul Thompson as players to have that distinction.

The Thunderbirds will additionally have two alternate captains for home games and two alternate captains for road games throughout the 2021-22 season. The home game alternates will be defensemen Steven Santini and forward Nathan Walker. For road games, forward Sam Anas and defenseman Tyler Tucker will serve as alternates.

Cross, 32, a Boston College alumnus and Eagles captain in 2011-12 and a veteran of over 500 AHL games, served as an alternate captain for the Thunderbirds during the 2019-20 season. The defenseman has also worn a captain's letter with the Cleveland Monsters (2018-19) and Providence Bruins in his past. He served as Providence's captain from 2015 to 2018. Cross' teams have never missed the Calder Cup playoffs under his captaincy.

Santini, 26, served as an alternate in 2020-21 with the Utica Comets and is a veteran of 229 professional games. Like Cross, Santini is an alumnus of Boston College, where he served as an alternate captain for the Eagles during the 2015-16 season. He has skated in 119 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues. 

Walker, 27, has previous leadership experience under his belt as well, having worn an "A" with the Hershey Bears during the 2018-19 season. A member of the Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup-winning organization in 2018, the Australian winger has also previously played in the Calder Cup Finals with Hershey in 2016. He is coming off a career-high 19-goal season in 2019-20 in his first season with St. Louis' AHL affiliate.

Anas, 28, is in his second season in the Blues organization after leading the Iowa Wild to the Western Conference's second-best record in 2019-20. That same season, the former Quinnipiac University Bobcat won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL's leading scorer (20g+50a = 70 points in 63 games played). As a senior with the Bobcats in 2015-16, Anas served as an alternate captain, earned All-American honors, and led Quinnipiac to the National Championship game.

Tucker, 21, becomes the youngest player to wear a leadership letter in Thunderbirds team history. However, like the other captains, Tucker does not lack in the leadership department, having served as an alternate in the Ontario Hockey League in 2019-20 with the Barrie Colts. Tucker recorded 29 points in 28 games that season for Barrie before adding another 27 points in 27 games with the Flint Firebirds in his final junior season. 

The 2-0 T-Birds and Islanders renew acquaintances on Friday night in Springfield for the first of a home-and-home weekend set on the heels of a 4-3 Springfield win last Sunday in a shootout. Puck drop at the MassMutual Center on Friday is set for 7:05 p.m.

For more information on how to become a Springfield Thunderbirds ticket member, call (413) 739-4625 or visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.