Cruthers joins the Stampede as the tenth Head Coach in team history after spending the last year at the helm of the Fayetteville Marksmen of the Southern Professional Hockey League in Fayetteville, N.C. Under his leadership, both as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations, the Marksmen marked a record of 31-19-6-0 and landed a spot in the SPHL Playoffs.
Prior to the move to Fayetteville, Cruthers served as an assistant coach of the Stampede during the 2022-23 season. He had a hand at helping develop players such as Sam Harris, recent NCAA National Champion with Denver University, Maxim Strbak (MSU), Isaac Gordon (MTU), Max Rud (UMN) and Jackson Irving (UMass), all of which also competed in the NCAA Tournament this season. Following the season, four players Cruthers helped develop were selected in the NHL Draft including Maxim Strbak (Rd 2), Chris Pelosi (Rd 4), Jack Phelan (Rd 5), and Sam Harris (Rd 5).
Cruthers has amassed an impressive resume at the junior hockey level over the years. Starting in 2015, Cruthers was instrumental in developing the Charlotte Rush (USPHL) into a championship level program. Under his direction, the team won the first of two USPHL-Elite national titles in 2017, just two years into his time with the program. With Cruthers as the General Manager and Premier Head Coach, the Rush’s Premier and Elite programs both captured national titles in 2021.
On top of the 2022-23 season with the Herd, Cruthers also has experience in the USHL as the Head Coach and Assistant General Manager of the Chicago Steel (2017-18). Cruthers lead the Steel to the USHL Clark Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals during his time in Chicago. Following the 2017-18 season, he headed to Corpus Christi, Texas to lead the NAHL’s Corpus Christi Ice Rays. During his time with the Ice Rays, Cruthers was selected as a coach for the NAHL Top Prospects Event.
In addition to his impressive coaching accolades, Cruthers proved to be a force on the ice as a player. He began his collegiate career at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he played two seasons. Following his time at West Point, Cruthers transferred to Robert Morris University and was a four-year NCAA Division I letterwinner. As a senior, he was named the captain of the Colonials and was a preliminary nominee for the Hobey Baker Award.
Following his time at the collegiate level, Cruthers made the move to the ECHL where he began his career with the Utah Grizzlies. Moving between ECHL teams for eight seasons, Cruthers also played stints in the AHL with the Lake Erie Monsters, Albany River Rats, Norfolk Admirals, Manitoba Moose and Hershey Bears. He spent the most time with the Reading Royals in the ECHL, appearing in 278 games over five seasons plus an additional 36 in the ECHL playoffs (14g, 25a, 39p). During the regular season, Cruthers tallied 86 goals and 187 assists for 273 points, .982 points per game. Cruthers was also chosen to wear the “C” for both the Royals and Orlando Solar Bears.
