Jets Community,
Now that we’ve wrapped up another very successful season of hockey at the Jets, we turn our attention to Spring hockey and beyond. With that, we have some exciting changes to share.
First off, the Jets are sad to announce that Coach Brandon Lewandowski has accepted a Hockey Director position at the Sabres and will be leaving us this week for his new role. We wish Coach Lewie all the best and our 2008s look forward to seeing him on the opposing bench next season in CSDHL!
Of course when one door closes another (or in this case three more) open and the Jets are thrilled to welcome the following new coaches to our organization starting with Spring hockey in just a couple weeks!
- Jeremy Morin is joining the Jets and will be working with our PeeWee age teams (2008/2009) this spring and next season. You may recognize Jeremy from his two years playing with the US National Team Development Program and his five years playing in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks (among others)! Jeremy has played for some of the top coaches in the world including Florida Panthers Head Coach Joel Quinnville, Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe, and San Jose Sharks Assistant Coach Steve Spott. Jeremy also works with Briane Keane of Prodigy Hockey and his ability to teach on ice techniques and skills, and sense to deploy those techniques in game situations is incredible. We look forward to having Jeremy with the Chicago Jets for years to come!
- Zach Loesch is joining the Jets and will be working with our Bantam age teams (2006/2007) this spring and next season. Zach, a 27-year-old native of White Bear Lake, Minn, played for four years of NCAA Division 1 hockey at Lake Superior State earning a Marketing degree with minors in International Business and Sports Marketing. During his college career, he spent time in prospect camps with the Chicago Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets, and Washington Capitals. After college Zach spent the 2016-17 season playing for the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers and Columbus Cottonmouths and appeared in an American Hockey League preseason game with the Chicago Wolves. After retiring from professional hockey Zach returned to Minnesota to coach the Bantam AA team in White Bear Lake in 2017-18. In 2018 Zach moved to Chicago and for the past two seasons he has coached the highly successful Northbrook Bantam AA team. This season Zach led his team to a NIHL Elite Championship and a 4th place finish in the Bantam AA State Tournament. Zach has played for some of the top coaches in the country during his youth, NCAA, and professional career and his high energy approach to coaching will be a fantastic addition to our staff. Zach also brings two new assistant coaches with him to the Jets - Devon Stuermer, who has coached for the past three years at the AAA level with CYA, and Josh Weinstein, his assistant coach at Northbrook.
- Michael Harris will be joining the Jets Midget program in early June (U18/U16/U15). Michael, a 28 year old Silver Spring, MD native played his junior hockey with the Fresno Monsters in the North American Hockey League before heading to play ACHA Division 1 hockey at Ohio University. Michael represented Team USA playing in the World University Games in 2015 where he was selected as a captain for Team USA. After receiving his Bachelor's of Science Degree in Sports Management from Ohio University Michael played one season of professional hockey for the Danville Dashers winning the Federal Hockey League's Championship that season. Upon retiring from professional hockey Michael in 2018-19 Michael worked as an assistant coach for the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in the Southern Professional Hockey League and in 2019-20 he returned to coach his alma mater DeMatha High School. We are thrilled to have Michael’s experience and enthusiasm going forward with our Midget age players.
Please join the Jets in welcoming all of these terrific coaches to our club!
With our new faces coming on board, we are now pleased to announce our coaching lineup for our birth year tournament teams playing in the Chi Town Shuffle and Chicago Shootout this spring. Once again, we do not believe that there is a stronger top to bottom coaching lineup in Illinois! Please bear in mind that these coaching lineups are for spring only and do not necessarily represent our plans for this fall. All coaching assignments subject to change if needed as well.
