Announcement Came at Meet the Team Event
October 13, 2023
Lehigh Valley, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have officially announced that veteran forward Garrett Wilson has been named the third full-time captain in the team’s history.
The news was officially unveiled for fans on Thursday night at PPL Center during a special Meet the Team event for Phantoms Premier Members inside the Morning Call Club. All of the players were introduced and welcomed by the fans with Wilson being saved as the last announcement and receiving the loudest and longest ovation.
“I’ve known for a little bit here now,” Wilson said. “But to finally have it announced for the fans is great and I look forward to trying to lead this team to a lot of wins this year.”
The 32-year-old forward with 763 games of professional hockey experience is entering his fourth season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
“Everyone I’ve talked to and signed autographs for tonight, they’re all pretty excited and are congratulating me. And saying that I’m deserving of it. It makes me feel good and hopefully, I can steer this ship in the right direction.”
Wilson is excited for the future with the Phantoms and is signed with the team for the next two seasons. At 165 career games with the Phantoms, he will have a chance to catch Greg Carey’s all-time Lehigh Valley record of 277 career games with the team.
“I just love the way this organization is run,” Wilson said. “It starts at the top with Rob and Jim Brooks. And look at the facility we get to play in every night and the fans here especially too. All the way down the organization, the staff, the people at the rink. Everyone’s been great to me since I got here and it’s exciting to be back for a couple more years.”
The veteran leader racked up a career-high 43 points last season including 18 goals which was his most in a campaign since 2014-15 with San Antonio. The bruising, rugged winger also racked up 195 penalty minutes and became the Lehigh Valley career leader in PIM with 338.
Wilson also became the first Lehigh Valley player to record a pair of hat tricks at PPL Center in the same season when he scored trifectas on February 20, 2023 vs. Hartford and then again on March 15, 2023 against Hershey.
Garrett Wilson has played in 578 career games in the AHL scoring 130 goals with 160 assists for 290 points in a career spanning San Antonio, Portland, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Toronto and Lehigh Valley.
He also has 84 games of NHL experience with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins scoring two goals with six assists for eight points while also adding 10 games of Stanley Cup Playoffs experience to his impressive resume. In total, he has played in 763 career professional games in the NHL, AHL and ECHL scoring 168 goals with 194 assists for 362 points while accumulating 1,072 penalty minutes.
Opening Night for the 2023-24 season is Saturday against the Cleveland Monsters. The special night will feature a rally towel giveaway and a party outside in the plaza before the game. Opening Weekend continues on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. with a matinee clash against the Belleville Senators.
UPCOMING –
Saturday, October 14 (7:05) – Cleveland Monsters at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (OPENING NIGHT!)
Sunday, October 15 (1:05) – Belleville Senators at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (OPENING WEEKEND!!)
