COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey named Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass.), Kris Mayotte (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Steve Miller (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Grant Potulny (Minneapolis, Minn.) as assistant coaches for the 2017 U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto, Canada. The group will work with Bob Motzko (St. Cloud, Minn.), who was previously named head coach.
ABOUT BROWN
Brown, who served as an assistant coach with Motzko on the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team, will be behind the Team USA bench for the second time. Brown has spent the past 12 seasons with the Boston College men’s ice hockey program where he works closely with the team’s defensemen and special teams. Brown, who was a defenseman for the Eagles for three seasons (1986-87, 1988-90), joined his alma mater in 2004 as an assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2012-13 season. A two-time U.S. Olympian (1988, 1992), Brown enjoyed a 12-year professional hockey career that included stops with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres (1990-91, 1992-93), Pittsburgh Penguins (1993-94) and Winnipeg Jets (1994-95) in addition to playing eight seasons overseas in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.
ABOUT MAYOTTE
Mayotte will be making his debut on a U.S. national team coaching staff. An assistant coach with the Providence College men’s ice hockey program, Mayotte works with the goaltenders and penalty kill unit and saw his first season with the Friars end in the program’s first-ever NCAA national championship in 2014-15. Prior to joining Providence, Mayotte spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the St. Lawrence University men’s ice hockey program. Before becoming a coach in 2012, Mayotte played professional hockey for five seasons in the American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League and Central Hockey League after a four-year career as Union College’s starting goaltender from 2002-06.
ABOUT MILLER
Miller is an assistant coach for Team USA for the first time. Currently the director of hockey for Air Force Academy, Miller joined the Academy prior to the 2015-16 season after serving the 2014-15 season with Mayotte on Providence College’s NCAA championship staff. Before Providence, Miller spent20 seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Denver where he helped the Pioneers claim back-to-back NCAA championships in 2004 and 2005. Miller joined Denver after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant at Miami University and one season at his alma mater, St. Mary’s University, where he played three seasons.
ABOUT POTULNY
Potulny will be serving on the staff of his second U.S. National Junior Team after helping Team USA claim the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia. Potulny, entering his eighth season as an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota men’s ice hockey program, has helped the Gophers claim five-straight regular-season conference titles and reach two NCAA Frozen Fours in the last five years. A Gopher from 2000-04, Potulny was a three-year captain and two-time NCAA national champion (2002, 2003) before playing six years of professional hockey in the American Hockey League.
NOTES: NHL Network is the exclusive U.S. TV home of the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship … Bob Motzko (St. Cloud, Minn.) is the first U.S. National Junior Team coach to make his international head coaching debut for Team USA since Phil Housley (South St. Paul, Minn.) led the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team to a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia … Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the eighth consecutive year … Team USA will play its preliminary-round games at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto against Canada, Latvia, Russia, and Slovakia. Quarterfinals will be split between the Bell Centre in Montreal and Air Canada Centre. The semifinal and medal games will be played at the Bell Centre while relegation games will be played at Air Canada Centre. For more information about the tournament, click here … Approximately 40 players will attend the 2016 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, July 30-Aug. 6. Invitees to the camp will be announced this month.
