COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Kevin Dean (Madison, Wis./Vancouver Canucks), Darby Hendrickson (Richfield, Minn./Nashville Predators), Ty Hennes (Kent, Wash./New York Rangers) and Brandon Naurato (Livonia, Mich./University of Michigan) have been named assistant coaches for the 2026 U.S. Men’s National Team it was announced today by USA Hockey. In addition, Thomas Speer (Janesville, Wis.) will serve as goaltending coach and Lawrence Feloney (Natick, Mass.) and Matt DeMado (Montclair, N.J.) as video coaches. The group will support Don Granato (Downers Grove, Ill.), who was previously named head coach of the 2026 U.S. Men’s National Team. The U.S. Men’s National Team will compete in the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship May 15-31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. All Team USA games will be televised live by NHL Network. Team USA enters the tournament as the defending gold medalist. ABOUT DEAN
Kevin Dean is serving on the staff of a U.S. Men’s National Team for the second straight year after helping lead Team USA to its first gold medal in the IIHF Men’s World Championship in 92 years a year ago. He represented the U.S. on the international stage as a player in the 1988 IIHF World Junior Championship and also in the 1998 IIHF Men’s World Championship. Dean has spent the last nine campaigns as an assistant coach in the NHL, including this past season with the Vancouver Canucks prior to three campaigns with the Chicago Blackhawks and five with the Boston Bruins. Dean’s coaching resume also features 10 seasons in the AHL, including four years (2006-10) as an assistant coach with the Lowell Devils and six campaigns with the Providence Bruins (2011-17) – the first five as assistant coach and his final year as head coach. Dean also served one season (2010-11) as the head coach of the Trenton Devils in the ECHL. The Madison, Wis., native played college hockey at the University of New Hampshire and went on to a 12-year professional playing career that included seven seasons in the NHL. ABOUT HENDRICKSON
Darby Hendrickson is making his first appearance as a member of the U.S. Men’s National Team coaching staff. He played for Team USA on the international stage on seven different occasions, including the 1994 Olympic Winter Games and six straight years (1996-2001) in the IIHF Men’s World Championship, including helping the U.S. to a bronze medal in 1996. Hendrickson recently completed his second season as an assistant coach for the NHL’s Nashville Predators after 14 seasons in the same capacity for the Minnesota Wild. The Richfield, Minn., native’s professional playing career included 518 regular-season NHL games over 10 seasons (1994-2004), including stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche. He played two seasons collegiately at the University of Minnesota before embarking on his pro career, which concluded with two campaigns (2005-07) at EC Salzburg. ABOUT HENNES
Ty Hennes, who just completed his first season as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers, is serving as an assistant coach of the of the U.S. Men’s National Team for the second time after supporting the 2024 U.S. Men’s National Team in a similar role. Prior to his time in New York, the Kent, Wash., native spent 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, including in support of the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup championship teams. His roles with the Penguins included four years as an assistant coach and six years as the skating and skills coach. Hennes’ career has also included two seasons (2013-2015) with USA Hockey as an American Development Model regional manager. Hennes played four seasons of collegiate hockey at Boston College, where he was a member of the Eagles’ 2001 NCAA national championship squad. After graduating from BC, Hennes played three seasons of professional hockey while obtaining his doctorate of chiropractic in 2011. ABOUT NAURATO
Brandon Naurato is making his first appearance as a member of the U.S. Men’s National Team. He recently finished his fourth season as head men’s ice hockey coach at the University of Michigan where he has led the Wolverines to the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in three of his first four campaigns, along with two Big Ten playoff titles. Prior to arriving at Michigan, Naurato spent three campaigns with the Detroit Red Wings as a player development consultant where he worked with the Red Wings and Grand Rapids coaching staffs to implement individual player development plans. As a player, Naurato helped Michigan to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons wearing the maize and blue (2006-2009), including a spot in the 2008 Frozen Four. Following his collegiate career, he played four years professionally. ABOUT SPEER
Thomas Speer is making his third appearance as goaltending coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team. He helped guide Team USA to its first gold medal in the IIHF Men’s World Championship in 92 years last season and was also part of the 2023 staff. Speer recently finished his fourth season as the goaltending coach for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. Prior to joining the Sharks, Speer worked three seasons (2019-22) for the NHL’s Calgary Flames as the team’s development goalie coach. Speer was USA Hockey’s national goaltending coach from 2017-19. He also served as the goaltending coach for the silver medal-winning U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team at the 2018 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship. Prior to joining USA Hockey, Speer worked as director of amateur goaltending for the Dallas Stars and as a goalie development coordinator for USA Hockey in Texas and Oklahoma. He also served as a goaltending coach for the Allen Americans of the ECHL for four seasons. ABOUT FELONEY
Lawrence Feloney is serving as a video coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team for the third time after supporting the 2025 and 2014 teams in the same capacity. He has been the video coach for the NHL’s Nashville Predators since the 2010-11 season. Prior to joining the Predators, Feloney spent four seasons as the video coordinator for the American Hockey League’s Lowell Devils (2006-10). The Natick, Mass., native began his career with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst men’s hockey team as a manager and video coordinator from 2003 to 2005. ABOUT DeMADO
Matt DeMado is serving as a video coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team for the second time, having held the same role for Team USA in the 2016 IIHF Men’s World Championship. He has spent the last eight seasons working as video coach for the New York Islanders after six campaigns in a similar role for the New Jersey Devils. DeMado, who grew up in Washington, Conn., also did video work for the AHL’s Albany Devils and Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the University of New Hampshire men’s hockey teams. SUPPORT STAFF NAMED
In addition to Brett Peterson (Northborough, Mass./Florida Panthers), who was previously named as the team’s general manager, the U.S. support staff will also include John Vanbiesbrouck, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations; assistant general manager Jeff Kealty(Framingham, Mass./Nashville Predators); team services manager Nicole Seip (Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Hockey); team operations manager Scott Aldrich (Hancock, Mich./USA Hockey); performance coach Juan Gonzalez (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Blackhawks); athletic trainers Stan Wong (Boca Raton, Fla./USA Hockey) and Dave DiNapoli (North Branford, Conn./Florida Panthers); equipment managers Chris “Frosty” Scoppetto (Hamden, Conn./New Jersey Devils) and Teddy Richards (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Florida Panthers); physical therapist Daryl Moore (South Lyon, Mich.); team physician Dr. Doug Weiss (Bernardston, Mass.); massage therapist Peewee Willmann (Hannover, Germany); content manager Taylor Swierc (Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Hockey) and media officer Dave Fischer (Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Hockey). U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group
USA Hockey utilizes the expertise of the U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group in putting together the U.S. Men’s National Team, led by USA Hockey’s John Vanbiesbrouck and including NHL general managers Bill Zito (Florida), Don Waddell (Columbus), Eric Tulsky (Carolina), Chris Patrick (Washington), Bill Guerin (Minnesota), Mike Grier (San Jose), Chris Drury (New York Rangers), Chris MacFarland (Colorado), Craig Conroy (Calgary) and Stan Bowman(Edmonton). | 
