Cruthers, St. Clair Named Head Coaches for Chipotle All-American Game
Published on January 9, 2026 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
USA Hockey has announced the United States Hockey League (USHL) coaches set to lead Team Blue and Team White at the 2026 Chipotle All-American Game, scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich.
Team White
Colten St. Clair - Head Coach, Muskegon Lumberjacks
Pat McCadden - Head Coach, Green Bay Gamblers
Kevin Porter - Assistant Coach, NTDP
Derek Plante - Guest Coach, Former NHL Player/Coach
Team Blue
Ryan Cruthers - Head Coach, Sioux Falls Stampede
Brett Skinner - Head Coach, Fargo Force
Ryan Hayes, Assistant Coach, NTDP
Pat Maroon - Guest Coach, Muskegon Lumberjacks
Sioux Falls Stampede Head Coach Ryan Cruthers will lead Team Blue, assisted by Fargo Force Head Coach Brett Skinner and NTDP U18 Assistant Coach Ryan Hayes. Muskegon Lumberjacks Head Coach Colten St. Clair will lead Team White, assisted by Green Bay Gamblers Head Coach Pat McCadden and NTDP U18 Assistant Coach Kevin Porter.
In his second season with the Stampede, Cruthers has led his squad to the best record in the Western Conference as of Jan. 9, 2026 (20-10-2-0, W-L-OTL-SOL). He earned a first-round bye in the 2025 Clark Cup playoffs, bringing postseason hockey back to Sioux Falls.
Cruthers will be assisted by Skinner, who led the Force to a 2024 Clark Cup, and Hayes, who recently helped the U.S. win bronze at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship. Pat Maroon, a three-time Stanley Cup champion and first-year assistant coach in Muskegon, will serve as a guest coach against his son, Anthony Thomas-Maroon, who will compete for Team White.
After serving as associate head coach on last year's Clark Cup-winning team, St. Clair is in his first season as head coach of the Lumberjacks. The two-time Clark Cup champion, who also won as an associate coach with Sioux City in 2022, has Muskegon firmly in a playoff position in the tightly contested Eastern Conference with a 22-9-0-0 mark.
St. Clair will be assisted by the top bench boss in the Western Conference and Clark Cup champion as a player for the Gamblers, McCadden, as well as Porter, who was a Hobey Baker winner, NCAA All-American, and Stanley Cup champion during his playing career. Stanley Cup Champion, NCAA All-American, and former assistant coach at both levels, Derek Plante, will serve as the guest coach. Plante's oldest sons, Zam Plante and Max Plante, are USHL alumni currently playing at the University of Minnesota Duluth, while his youngest, Victor Plante, plays for the NTDP U18 team and will be suiting up for Team Blue.
The game will feature the top 2026 NHL Draft-eligible players in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Among the high-profile names selected to compete are Michigan State commit Jack Hextall (Youngstown Phantoms) and Providence College commit Blake Zielinski. Seventeen players from last year's game were selected in the 2025 NHL Draft.
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- Fighting Saints Acquire Forward Trevor Theuer - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Bucs Complete Trade with Chicago, Acquire Major - Des Moines Buccaneers
- Cruthers, St. Clair Named Head Coaches for Chipotle All-American Game - USHL
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- St. Clair Leads Four Lumberjacks Staff Members to Chipotle All-American Game - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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