GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Graduate student defenseman Bennett Zmolek has been named the 2025-26 University of North Dakota hockey captain in a vote by his peers, the program announced on Friday.
 
Joining him in the leadership group is senior forward Dylan James, junior defenseman Jake Livanavage, senior forward Ben Strinden and junior defenseman Abram Wiebe – who will all wear a letter for the first time in their collegiate careers.
 
Zmolek, who served as an assistant captain in 2024-25, returns for his third season in a UND uniform after beginning his collegiate career at Minnesota State. The Rochester, Minn., native is set to return after missing all but one game last season with an injury. In his first full year with the program, Zmolek led the team with a plus-17 while blocking an NCHC high 91 shots – the most by a UND player since Gage Ausmus in 2015-16. Over his career, Zmolek has appeared in 62 career games and tallied 16 points. He is currently pursuing his graduate degree in athletic administration & coaching.
 
James returns for his final season with North Dakota in 2025-26 and is coming off his best offensive season. The senior finished fifth on the team with 22 points and exploded for a career-high 14 goals to rank second on the squad. Carving out a role as a dominant, two-way player, James finished tied for second in the nation with a trio of shorthanded goals while pacing all UND forwards with 40 blocked shots. James has 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 points in 114 career games. A three-time AHCA All-America Scholar and NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, James is a kinesiology major.
 
One of the top returning defensemen in the country, Livanavage is set to wear a letter for the first time in his collegiate career in 2025-26. The junior finished third on the team last season with 28 points and sat second on the squad with 24 assists while also leading the team with 68 blocked shots to earn a spot on the AHCA/CCM All-America Second Team. He was dynamic in NCHC play as well, pacing the team with 21 points and 18 helpers to become only the fifth UND blueliner to earn a spot on the All-NCHC First Team and the first underclassman defenseman at NoDak to earn a first team recognition from a league since 2000-01. In 78 career games, the Phoenix, Ariz., native has nine goals and 48 assists for 57 points and is a communication major.
 
Strinden also returns for his senior season with the program and will don a letter as a North Dakota native. Last season, the Fargo product appeared in all 38 games and set a new career high in goals (8), assists (8) and points(16) while finishing with a plus-7 rating to rank third on the team. Strinden has been a model of consistency over his career, having played in 78 straight games entering 2025-26 and has 17 goals and 20 goals for 37 points in 99 career games. Strinden is a three-time NCHC Academic All-League Team selection and is a finance major.
 
Wiebe rounds out the leadership group as another first-time assistant captain and is coming off his best collegiate season in 2024-25. The Mission, British Columbia, native scored four goals and added 20 assists for 24 points to rank fourth on the team in points and second among UND blueliners while also blocking 58 shots to sit third on the squad. The junior has also been a mainstay in the lineup over his career, appearing in all 78 games and tallying 34 points on five goals and 29 assists. He is a two-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honoree as a finance major.
 
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