Captain’s Feature: Michael Vaglia

By Caleb Herrera

On Friday, July 19, 2024, Michael “Mikey” Vaglia was announced as one of UNC Hockey’s alternate captains for the 2024-25 season. In his last dance with the team, the senior hopes to both grow his game and help continue the team’s growth on and off the ice.

Born and raised in Apex, North Carolina, which is not a traditional hockey town, Vaglia wasn’t particularly surrounded by the culture in comparison to a few of his teammates. He was just three years old when the Carolina Hurricanes clinched the Stanley Cup in 2006 and although he doesn’t vividly remember that game, it planted a seed that grew into a lifelong love for the sport.

Vaglia’s ‘natural gravitation’ towards hockey showed in his youth. He began playing roller hockey at age five and later transitioned to ice hockey at age eight, joining local leagues at the Raleigh IcePlex. Despite being one of the few kids at his school who played hockey, his passion has never waved. The Carolina Hurricanes in particular have been a large part of Vaglia’s hockey world, idolizing players such as Ron Francis and Alexander Semin—the latter being the reason he wears number 28. Additionally, former Canes defensemen Aaron Ward was his travel hockey coach in high school.

Having grown up idolizing leaders on the ice, Vaglia finds himself embracing a similar role within his own team. Like many of his teammates, he describes the group as “tight-knit,” with each member serving as a leader and role model for one another. He holds his nomination as alternate captain in high regard, considering it an honor and being able to do so while wearing Tar Heel blue is an added bonus.

“It’s a long history of sports legends coming through here. It’s club hockey, but to put that Tar Heel logo on my chest and to go out there and try to bring some joy to the fans that come out and support us who’ve been awesome, it’s a lot of fun.”

Vaglia’s involvement in hockey extends beyond the ice through his involvement in the behind-the-scenes work of preparing for the season. He served as the fundraising chairperson in his sophomore year before becoming the club president in his junior year. This season, he will focus on community service, organizing events such as the club’s visit to the Orange County Public Library to broaden the program’s reach.

“Just really getting into the stuff off the ice with kids events like the event we just had at the [Orange County] library was really awesome to meet kids and hopefully inspire them to play hockey,” Vaglia said. “Getting into the community and trying to grow our brand has been really cool to see throughout my now four years here.”

When discussing his personal goals for the upcoming season, Vaglia hopes to contribute more offensively without losing his defensive prowess, an aspect of his game he takes great pride in as a forward. With his role as an alternate captain, he hopes to keep up team morale and ensure everyone is ‘having a good time.’

“It’s a blessing to play hockey in the first place and to get to play at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with how hard it is to get in here and to balance hockey and school, it’s a great opportunity we all have and we have to cherish it,” he said.

Reflecting on his hockey career thus far, Vaglia emphasized the importance of perseverance and attitude on and off the ice. Despite setbacks, whether it be being benched or cut from teams, he believes that these experiences have shaped his resilience and stresses the value of being well-rounded on and off the ice for future collegiate hockey players.

“Sometimes people will maybe only focus on their game on the ice and physical training, which is all important, but how you are as a teammate, how you respond to criticism or how your teammates perceive you is equally as important in my mind because those things are valued.”