Heather Mannix
Manager, Education and Player Development
Heather Mannix currently oversees and works heavily with both the Coaching and Officiating Education Programs, helping to develop new curriculum content as well as training curriculum for Coach and Officiating Developers nationwide. Heather also works with local hockey associations and programs across the country to support age-appropriate training, competition, and long-term athlete development.
Growing up playing hockey in the Detroit metro area, Heather comes to USA Hockey with a background in sport and exercise psychology, and exercise physiology. After earning her Masters in Exercise Science from the George Washington University, Heather utilized her physiology background while managing the Exercise Physiology and Body Composition Laboratories. She spent several years working on federally funded research focused on operationally defining what makes playing sports fun for children, in an effort to sustain youth sports participation. The research included both establishing evidence-based program guidelines for creating the most fun and positive sport experiences for children, as well as providing consultation on physical literacy programming and education.
Job Fransen
PhD at Charles Sturt University in Australia
Ken Martel
Senior Director, Player & Coach Development
With over 30 years of experience in player development and a long history as a coach with USA Hockey, Ken Martel was named senior director of player and coach development in November 2022. He is charged with helping provide a framework for associations nationwide to follow for optimal athlete development.
From 2009-22 Martel served as the technical director of USA Hockey’s American Development Model after spending two years (2006-08) at USA Hockey’s national office in Colorado Springs, Colo., working on coaching education and player development initiatives. For his efforts using science to advance sport, Martel received the USOPC "Doc" Councilman Award for Ice Hockey in 2004. In 2019, the USOPC’s also recognize him as their National Coach Educator of the Year.
Prior to arriving in Colorado Springs, Martel was a part of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program staff as an assistant coach for eight years (1998-2006), including a dual role with responsibilities for player personnel his final five seasons.
Martel has made appearances behind the bench of nine U.S. teams that have competed in International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, including four times with the U.S. National Under-18 Team (2000-04), four times with the U.S. National Junior Team (2004, 2006, 2008-09) and once with the U.S. Women’s National Team (2007). He has been part of two gold medal-winning teams, including the first-ever U.S. gold medals in the IIHF Men’s World Under-18 Championship (2002) and the IIHF World Junior Championship (2004).
Hannu Nykvist
One of Finland’s most experienced goalie coaches
With 35 years of experience in coaching goalies in Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and North America and implementing programs for goalie coach development as well as numerous appearances as speaker at international symposiums Hannu Nykvist is still at the forefront of goalie development on the international scene.
Nykvist’s Resume includes not only medals and developing goaltenders around the world, but also involves building entire programs for several clubs and organizations including the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in his role as Director of goalie development, where he also organized the first goalie pathway at an IIHF coach symposium. He was also a founding member of an international network for exchange of knowledge and experience between goalie coaches.
More recently Hannu is best known in the goalie world for his work developing optimal combinations of on-ice and off-ice training for top performance goalies, including mentoring Stanley Cup winning Sergei Bobrovsky.
Mikael Vernblom
Goalie Coach/Video Coach Linköping HC, SHL
With over 20 years of experience as a full-time professional goalie coach, Mikael Vernblom has worked in a variety of capacities at the highest levels of hockey, including the SHL, international competition, and elite development programs. Currently, he serves as the SHL Goalie Coach and Video Coach for Linköping HC.
Mikael´s journey started with earning his coaching license from the Swedish Ice Hockey Association in 2005. Since then, he has worked in the Swedish club system and has also served as goalie coach and video coach with several Swedish National Teams (Team17, Team18, Team19/20) as well as within the National Player Development Program.
He has combined traditional coaching with cutting-edge video analysis to help goaltenders refine their skills and decision-making at the highest level.
Beyond coaching, Vernblom has taken on leadership roles, including Assistant General Manager for Linköping HC (2020–2022) and co-chair of the LINHAC Hockey Analytics Conference and also lectures at Linköping University’s Department of Computer Science, bridging the gap between data and performance in sports analytics.
Rikard Grönborg
Head Coach, Tappara
With a long career in international hockey, Grönborg has experience from both North America and Europe, working in various coaching roles since 1994.
He spent several years in the Swedish national team organization, serving as head coach for Tre Kronor, where he led the team to IIHF World Championship gold medals in 2017 and 2018. After his time with the national team, he coached ZSC Lions in Switzerland’s National League before taking over as head coach of Tappara Tampere in Finland’s Liiga.
Steve Thompson
Manager, Player Development - Goaltending
A member of the USA Hockey goaltender coaching community since 2014, Thompson joined USA Hockey full-time as its Manager of Goaltending Development in June 2019. He is responsible for the development and management of the American goaltending program, including player development, coach development, parent education, and more.
Thompson made his international coaching debut as the goaltending coach for the U.S. Women's National Team and helped lead Team USA to a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, a gold medal at the 2019 World Championships, and a Four Nations Cup championship in 2018. Thompson has also led Team USA on the men’s side with a Five Nations Cup Championship in 2021 as well as coaching the 2022 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup team.
Thompson's coaching career started at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he served two seasons as the program's goaltending coach, strength and conditioning coach, and director of hockey operations.
Greg Cronin
Head Coach of the Anaheim Ducks
Greg Cronin is the Head Coach of the Anaheim Ducks, entering his second NHL season in 2024–25. With 37 years of coaching and player development experience, he has worked at all levels, including the NHL, AHL, NCAA, and USA Hockey. Before joining the Ducks in 2023, Cronin coached the AHL's Colorado Eagles for five seasons, leading them to consistent playoff appearances.
His NHL experience includes assistant coaching roles with the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs, where he contributed to Toronto’s first playoff appearance in nine years (2013). He also led Northeastern University to its first NCAA tournament in 15 years and helped found the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP), developing several future NHL players.
A former college player at Colby College, Cronin began coaching in 1987 and holds a master’s degree from the University of Maine. He has also coached for Team USA in multiple international tournaments, earning a silver medal at the 1997 World Juniors.
Bethany Brausen
Head coach of St. Thomas Women’s Hockey
Bethany Brausen was named head coach of St. Thomas Women’s Hockey in January 2025 after serving as an assistant coach for three and a half seasons. As interim head coach during part of the 2024–25 season, she led the team to its first sweep of a top-5 opponent, defeating No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth.
Under Brausen’s coaching, the program has steadily progressed in the WCHA, achieving its first regulation win over a nationally ranked opponent in 2024. Over her time at St. Thomas, she has coached both All-WCHA second team and freshman team honorees.
Before joining St. Thomas, Brausen was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, where she had also played from 2010–14. As a Gopher, she was a two-time national champion, team captain, and academic honoree, contributing to an NCAA-record 62-game win streak.
Brausen has also coached at the high school and elite youth levels and has extensive experience in hockey skill development and sports psychology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in counseling from the University of Minnesota.
Steve Briere
Goaltending coach, Seattle Kraken
Steve Briere is a seasoned goaltending coach currently with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. His passion for goaltending ignited at the age of eight, inspired by legendary netminders like Patrick Roy. Briere’s playing career spanned various leagues, including the USHL, NCAA and professional stints in the AHL, ECHL and European leagues.
Transitioning from player to coach, Briere founded the Canadian Professional Goalie Schools and the UnLock Goaltending Program, emphasizing innovative training methods. His NHL coaching tenure began with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015, where he served for seven seasons before joining the Seattle Kraken. Briere’s coaching philosophy focuses on holistic development, integrating technical skills with mental resilience and adaptability, reflecting his commitment to evolving the goaltending position.
One more active NHL coach will be added as a speaker in the goalie pathway. The name cannot be disclosed until their team is no longer in contention for a playoff spot.
The goalie path of the Symposium will be moderated by Justin Goldman a.k.a. The Goalie Guild and Thomas Magnusson, Head of Goaltending Development at The Swedish Ice Hockey Association.