Kevin McDonald enters his third season as the General Manager of the Eagles, while also serving in his third year as Assistant General Manager for the NHL's Colorado Avalanche.

McDonald was the recipient of the 2022 Thomas Ebright Memorial Award, which is annually presented for outstanding career contributions to the American Hockey League. He served as the General Manager of the Blues' American Hockey League affiliate beginning in 2018 and in that role, was also a pro scout for St. Louis. With his guidance and input in team personnel decisions, McDonald played an important role in the Blues capturing the 2019 Stanley Cup Championship.

The Lawrence, Massachusetts, native joined the Blues organization prior to the 2001-02 season as a professional scout and was promoted to Director of Professional Scouting within two seasons, taking on the role in 2003. McDonald took on the role of General Manager of the Blues' former AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, in June 2005 before being named an Assistant General Manager for St. Louis in May 2009.

McDonald began his career in professional hockey in 1988 as a member of the New York Rangers' communications department. Following the Rangers' Stanley Cup Championship run in 1993-94, he moved into the Rangers' hockey operations department and worked as an assistant to Rangers General Manager Neil Smith during the lockout shortened 1994-95 season.

McDonald resides in North Andover, Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife Lauren, his two children Sean and Kayleigh, and his three step-children Joseph, Jenna, and Daniel.

Schneekloth is in his second season as a head coach in the AHL after spending the previous 10 years on the Eagles' coaching staff, which included a pair of championship seasons as the team's head coach while the Eagles were Colorado's ECHL affiliate. He led the Eagles to back-to-back Kelly Cup titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18, posting a 95-38-11 (.698) combined regular-season record followed by a 32-12 playoff mark. The Calgary, Alberta, native finished runner-up for ECHL Coach of the Year in both campaigns. In his first season as an AHL head coach, Schneekolth led the team to a record of 40-25-5-2. Those 40 wins are tied for the most in a single season since the Eagles made the jump to the AHL in 2018-19.

Including his final seven years as a player, the upcoming 2024-25 campaign will mark Schneekloth's 19th consecutive season with the Eagles organization.

Schneekloth, 46, served as an AHL assistant coach for five seasons with the Eagles from 2018 through 2023. He began his coaching career with the ECHL Eagles in 2013-14 and spent three years in that role before taking over the head coaching position in 2016-17.

A former defenseman, Schneekloth played 11 seasons professionally, including the last seven in an Eagles sweater, helping the team win a CHL championship in 2007. He was named the ECHL's Defenseman of the year in 2012, while being voted the CHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman in both 2009 and 2010. A four-time All-Star and a member of both the CHL's All-Decade Team and the Colorado Eagles All-Decade Team, Schneekloth was also named to the All-ECHL Team in 2012 and was voted to the All-CHL Team on three separate occasions (2008-2010).

Schneekloth retired in 2013 as the Eagles' all-time leader in points (356), goals (111) and assists (245) by a defenseman. He won an NCAA championship with the University of North Dakota in 2000.

Aaron and his wife, Kristie, have two children, son Gabe and daughter Bree.

Hinote, 47, is in his first season behind the Eagles bench and returns to the Avalanche organization where he played his first six NHL seasons and won a Stanley Cup in 2001. Selected by Colorado in the seventh round (167th overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Hinote appeared in 353 regular season games with the Avs from 1999-00 to 2005-06, recording 65 points (27g/38a). He skated in a career-high 76 contests during the 2000-01 campaign and went on to dress in all 23 playoff games that spring to help Colorado win the Stanley Cup.

The Leesburg, Florida, native has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators, helping the team advance to the playoffs in three of those four campaigns.

Hinote began his coaching career with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010-11, spending four seasons behind the bench (2010-14) before moving into a professional scouting role with the Jackets. After four years as a scout (2014-18), he joined the United States National Team Development program, serving as associate coach with Team USA's Under-17 and Under-18 squads from 2018-20. Hinote was an assistant coach on the United States' bronze-medal entry at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship in Russia.

Hinote concluded his NHL playing career with 90 points (38g/52a) in 503 regular season games with the Avalanche and Blues. He added 15 points (6g/ga) in 72 Stanley Cup playoff contests. After departing the Avalanche, he played three seasons with St. Louis from 2006-09 and then one season with MODO in Sweden (2009-10) before retiring.

Prior to his pro career, Hinote spent two seasons with the Oshawa Generals from 1996-98, where he helped Oshawa win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions in 1996-97. He joined the Generals after playing two seasons at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1994-96.

Branham, 43, enters his fourth season as an Eagles assistant coach after spending the previous eight seasons as the head coach and general manager of the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. After beginning his career as Utah’s bench boss in 2013, Branham has since become the winningest and longest-tenured coach in Grizzlies history. The Eagles River, Wisconsin native guided the Grizzlies to a record of 284-205-76 and six playoff appearances during his time in West Valley City.
Prior to earning his first head coaching position, Branham spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Reading Royals from 2010-2013. During his time with the Royals, the team went 143-89-23 in the regular season and captured the 2013 Kelly Cup title.
Branham was drafted in the third round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks and played 284 professional games in the ECHL and AHL during his playing career as a defenseman from 2002-2010.

Zaba, 41, spent the last seven seasons with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm as the club’s goaltending coach. During his tenure, Tri-City produced three different USHL Goaltenders of the Year and compiled a 237-128-24-19 regular-season team record from 2017-24. Additionally, two Storm goaltending alumni Zaba coached went on to be selected in an NHL Draft. Prior to joining the Storm, Zaba spent two seasons as a Volunteer Assistant Coach with Colorado College from 2015-17.
A native of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Zaba played eight seasons of professional hockey as a goaltender from 2007-15 and appeared in one game for the New York Rangers on Jan. 23, 2010. The netminder played 66 AHL games with the Hartford Wolf Pack over parts of the 2008-10 campaigns and suited up in 31 ECHL contests from 2007-10. Zaba concluded his pro playing career with a two-year run in the Italian Hockey League from 2010-12, winning the championship in 2011-12, and the ICE Hockey League, Austria’s highest pro league, from 2012 15.

Weiss is in her first season with the Eagles and was a guest coach for the Colorado Avalanche in 2023-24 where she assisted in the last two Avalanche Development Camps, part of the 2023 Training Camp and periodically throughout the 2023-24 regular season. Outside the Avs’ organization, she most recently served as an Assistant Coach for the Trinity College Men’s Hockey program in 2023-24 where the team finished as the NCAA DIII runner-up. Prior to coaching at her alma matter, Weiss’ coaching career includes stints with the NAHL’s Maryland Black Bears and AAA Washington Pride programs in various capacities.

Weiss is a member of the National Hockey League Coaches Association Female Coaches Program and has been a featured speaker in the organization’s mentorship program. She is involved with USA Hockey’s player development camps in the summer as well as the Coaching Education Program. Kim is a USA Hockey Level 5 certified coach and graduated from Georgetown Visitation School in Washington, DC.

 

The Potomac, Md., native played college hockey at Trinity College from 2007-11, serving as team captain as a junior and senior. She was a first-team All-American and NESCAC Player of the Year as a senior in 2010-11. As a junior, she helped guide the Bantams to an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in program history. Weiss was a four-time All-NESCAC honoree and remains the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Strecker, is in his second season as the Eagles Head Athletic Trainer after serving as the team’s Assistant Athletic Trainer during the 2022-23 campaign. Prior to his time with the Eagles, Strecker spent four seasons as the Head Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Tri-City Storm of the USHL.
Strecker previously worked at Gillette Physical Therapy in Gillette, Wyoming. He provided
athletic training services to the Gillette Wild (NA3HL) Hockey program, along with Gillette
College Rodeo, Gillette College Men and Women's Basketball, Gillette College Men and
Women's Soccer, Moorcroft High School athletics, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, Little
Guy Football League, and American Legion Baseball.
Strecker earned his bachelor's degree in athletic training from the University of Nebraska-Kearney in 2017.

Christian Galindo is a first-generation Mexican-American from Salina, Kansas. He graduated from Sterling College in 2018 with his Bachelor of Athletic Training. During his time at Sterling, he also worked for Varsity Cheer. He took over administrative and medical tasks for their collegiate dance division, which required him to travel across the country for Universal Dance Association staff training.

After undergrad, he moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to be a graduate assistant at East Stroudsburg University with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He graduated with his Master's in 2019.

He became the head athletic trainer for Gillette Physical Therapy/ Apex Athletic Performance, where he worked and expanded their ATC service lines while also working as a performance coach for three years. During his three years in Gillette, he was also part of the physiology testing team that worked with the Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, and the Denver Nuggets.

Pionk is entering his fourth season on the Eagles staff, after spending the previous three seasons as the team’s assistant equipment manager. Prior to making the jump to the AHL, he spent two seasons as the head equipment manager for the USHL's Omaha Lancers.
In addition, the Hermantown, Minnesota native spent the 2018-19 campaign as the Lancer's assistant equipment manager before being promoted to the top spot in 2019. The 25-year-old is the younger brother of current Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk.

Deweese is entering his first season in the AHL after spending the past three seasons as the head equipment manager for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL.

A Fairbanks, Alaska native, Deweese attended the University of Alaska-Anchorage, where he joined the hockey program as a student volunteer, working with both the equipment staff and hockey operations department.

A native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Fowler attended the University of Wisconsin, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. During his tenure at UW-Madison he interned with the school’s Olympic strength and conditioning department. From there, Fowler moved on to Boston College where he served as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant, working with both the men's and women's hockey teams. During his time at Boston College, he also received his master's degree in exercise and sport science.
Fowler is entering his first season as the team’s Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Schulman grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado and is a graduate of Fort Collins High School. He enjoyed a football career at Colorado Mesa University where he would also begin working as a strength and conditioning intern, working with several different sports including hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer, rugby, and track and field. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, Schulman joined the private sector working for private strength and conditioning facilities while also working with high school teams as a strength and conditioning coach.