Stampede Announce 2026-27 Hockey Ops Staff

Men's Ice Hockey 8/14/2026 1:18:00 PM

Stampede Announce 2026-27 Hockey Operations Staff

The Sioux Falls Stampede have announced their hockey operations staff for the 2026-27 season as the club sets out to defend its 2026 Clark Cup championship.
2026 General Manager of the Year Tony Gasparini returns for his fifth season as General Manager and Vice President of Hockey Operations. Head Coach Ryan Cruthers, who holds an 83-33-8 (.669) regular season record in two full seasons with the Herd, including winning the franchise's fourth Clark Cup championship in May, leads the team into his third season. The supporting staff includes returning assistant coach Ryan Black (fourth season) and video coach Nick Grosso (second season). New additions to the staff include assistant coaches Justen Close, Trevor Jewell and Jamieson McVicar, along with equipment manager Damon Wheeler. Jordan Whitsell returns as head athletic trainer for his sixth season.

Justen Close – Assistant Coach and Goaltending Coach – Kindersley, SK
Close joins the Stampede after a season behind the bench at Gustavus Adolphus College, where the Golden Gusties went 18-8-1. He played five seasons as a goaltender at the University of Minnesota, helping the Golden Gophers to a Big Ten Championship, two regular-season titles and two Frozen Four appearances, then spent a professional season with the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen, earning a spot on the league's All-Rookie Team. See full release.

Trevor Jewell – Assistant Coach – Belgrade, MT
Jewell joins the Stampede after a decade with the USPHL's Charlotte Rush in a variety of roles, most recently as Head Coach since 2023-24, a run that included three national championships. He has also coached at the SPHL and NAHL levels, serving as an assistant with the Fayetteville Marksmen and the Corpus Christi IceRays. A four-year player and senior-year captain at NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales University, he went on to play parts of two professional seasons in the SPHL with the Huntsville Havoc and Bloomington Thunder.

Jamieson McVicar – Assistant Coach and Player Development – Fargo, ND
McVicar joins the Stampede after seven years coaching at nearly every level of the game, most recently as an Assistant Coach for the nationally ranked Ohio University Bobcats (ACHA D1), where he helped the program to back-to-back National Semifinal appearances while completing his master's degree in Coaching Education. He has also served as a Scout and Prospect Developer for the WHL's Vancouver Giants, Director of Player Development at STAR Hockey Academy, and Assistant Coach for Sioux Falls Power. He owns and directs Flow State Hockey, a Fargo-based development company.

Damon Wheeler – Equipment Manager – Denver, CO
Wheeler spent seven years as equipment manager for the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Division I hockey program before the team was suspended. He went on to spend four seasons with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers and a season with the SPHL's Fayetteville Marksmen.

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