Coaches Named for 2025 Chipotle All-American Game
January 8, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
USA Hockey has announced the coaching staffs for the Chipotle All-American Game, set for Jan. 16, 2025, at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich.
Andy Brandt, head coach and general manager of the Madison Capitols, will serve as head coach of Team Blue. Ryan Cruthers, head coach of the Sioux Falls Stampede, will be at the helm of Team White. Jimmy Spratt, assistant coach for the Fargo Force, and Rory Dynan, assistant coach for the Dubuque Fighting Saints, will serve as assistants for Team Blue and Team White, respectively.
The game will feature 45 of the top draft-eligible USHL players, divided between Team Blue and Team White. Players from 13 USHL teams are represented, with the NTDP, Sioux City Musketeers, and Waterloo Black Hawks leading with four players each.
Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised live on NHL Network. Tickets are on sale now.
Andy Brandt, Head Coach, Team Blue
Brandt is in his second season as head coach and general manager of the Capitols, who rank third in the Eastern Conference standings after making an appearance in the Clark Cup Playoffs last season. The Wausau, Wis., native won a national championship as a player at the University of Wisconsin and served as an assistant coach for the Badgers during the 2022-23 season. His coaching experience includes five seasons as associate head coach at St. Norbert College (2017-2022) and two years as head coach and general manager of the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators (2015-2017). Brandt also worked as an assistant coach of the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators (2013-2015) after wrapping up a seven-year professional playing career as a forward in the AHL and ECHL.
Ryan Cruthers, Head Coach, Team White
Cruthers is in his first season as head coach of the Stampede, leading the team to a league-best record through the first half of the season. This is his second stint with the Stampede after previously serving as an assistant coach during the 2022-23 season. Prior to that, he worked in the league as head coach and general manager of the Chicago Steel (2017-18). His experience also includes a one-year stint (2023-24) as head coach and general manager of the SPHL's Fayetteville Marksmen, as well as leading the USPHL's Charlotte Rush from 2015-2022, where he won two USPHL-Elite titles. The Farmingdale, N.Y., native played collegiately at West Point (2003-05) and Robert Morris University (2006-08) before beginning an eight-year professional career as a forward in the AHL and ECHL.
Jimmy Spratt, Assistant Coach, Team Blue
Spratt is in his first season as an assistant coach for the Force, who currently stand in second place in the Western Conference standings. Prior to joining Fargo, Spratt served as an assistant coach for Northern Michigan University (2023-24) and the Green Bay Gamblers (2022-23). From 2019-2022, he was the director of hockey operations for the University of Miami and held the same role at Bowling Green State University from 2014-2019. Before coaching, the Chesterfield, Mich., native played four seasons professionally as a goaltender in the AHL and ECHL after a four-year playing career with the Falcons.
Rory Dynan, Assistant Coach, Team White
Dynan is in his first season as an assistant coach for Western Conference-leading Dubuque. Before joining the Fighting Saints, he spent one season in the same role with Acadie Bathurst-Titan and seven years with Gustavus Adolphus College (2016-2023). Dynan began his coaching career at Orono High School (2011-13) and Buffalo High School (2013-14) and later served as an assistant for the Kenai River Brown Bears of the NAHL (2014-15).
Hockey Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick will serve as Team Blue's honorary coach. Robert Esche, president of the AHL's Utica Comets, will be Team White's honorary coach.
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