Sabre Coaches

*All Information is subject to change.

Dan Granato 

A native of Naperville, Dan grew up playing hockey for the Sabres and the Huskies. He was an IL All-State High School hockey player at Naperville Central and won back-to-back Midget State titles and a national championship runner-up at the 1991 National Midget Tournament. After graduating, Dan moved on and played 2 seasons of Junior A hockey for the Rochester Mustangs of the USHL. Following his Junior A stint, Dan was a four-year letter winner at Division III University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. While at Eau Claire, Dan was twice named to the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association All-Academic team and was awarded the prestigious UWEC Super Six award for excellence on the ice and in the classroom. Dan served as the head coach and hockey director for Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville for over 10 years where he led the Wildcats to over 300 wins, including 2 IL West regular season titles & 2 IL West Cup Championships. He was twice named the IL West Coach of the Year and won the AHAI High School Boys Coach of the Year award in 2015. Dan has been with the Sabres since 2016, being named VP of Hockey in 2021. 

Brandon Lewandowski 

Brandon Lewandowski grew up in the Naperville area playing for various AA and AAA clubs throughout the state, including a year with Naperville Central High School earning a spot on the Illinois Showcase Team, Metro West All-Star team, and recognition as an All-State MVP. He has been involved in coaching for almost 20 years in both locally and nationally run programs. He has been instrumental in helping grow multiple Tier 2 organizations, serving in various roles such as Level Director, Program Director, and Director of Player Development before his move to the Sabres. He has been Head Coaching for over 15 years having produced very successful results both in moving players on to the next level and winning many prestigious titles, including State Championships in 2023 and 2025. He is now serving his seventh year as Director of Hockey for the Sabre Hockey Association.

Chris Chelios 

Coach Chelios has a long and illustrious career as a hockey player and coach. As a player, he played every level, house through AAA. After high school graduation, he chose the path that led him through the ranks of Junior Hockey, then as a NCAA D1 College player and Captain at the University of Wisconsin - Superior. Chris then found himself playing in the semi-professional leagues across Europe and the United States until he turned to coaching. Beginning at the Sabre mite program he worked his way up to building one of the most prestigious Tier 2 midget programs in the state. Chris has led the club to multiple State Championships and National Appearances. During his professional tenure he has also coached high school hockey at Naperville Central and at the collegiate level for the Robert Morris Women's ACHA Hockey team.

Jordan Diamond 

Jordan grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicagoland, playing youth travel hockey with Northbrook as a goalie. Jordan's coaching career began with the Skokie Flyers, both Head Coaching and running Goalie Clinics. In his over 20 years of coaching experience, Jordan has worked with every level of youth hockey, from Bronze to Central States, Mites to High School. Jordan has been an integral part of rebuilding Sabre Girls Hockey, bringing home multiple championships, including a 3-peat Girls State Championship in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Mike Lively 

Mike grew up playing hockey in the Chicagoland area for various AA and AAA programs. He pursued his playing career all the way up through college where he played for Ohio University in the ACHA. His team had an ACHA Nationals appearance and Mike was a 3x academic All-American as well as being named to the TSCHL All Conference Team. After his time in the net, Mike took up coaching immediately and began working for As Good as Gould goalie camps. He has been coaching with the Sabres since 2018 as an assistant coach and the full-time goalie coach for our Midget program. Mike will be entering his 5th year as the Sabres’ Goalie Director.

Christian Esposito 

Coach Esposito is native to the Chicagoland area where he grew up playing various levels of travel hockey. Coach Esposito went on to play college hockey at St Mary’s University of Minnesota. In his time at St Mary’s Coach Esposito served as Captain of his team. He is also credited for starting the ACHA hockey program at St Mary’s and serving as the club’s president while being a full-time student athlete. He was one of four founding members of the NCHL (Northern Collegiate Hockey League) which sits as one of the nation’s premiere ACHA D2 college hockey conferences today. After college Coach Esposito jumped right into coaching gaining experience at the Mite, Squirt, Peewee, and Bantam levels. He spent 5 years in a variety of roles, including Director of Hockey Operations with Northern Illinois University and has additionally spent time as the Hockey Director and Head Varsity Coach at Marmion High School. Coach Esposito has been with the Sabres for 3 years where he has already produced multiple State Championships and National Appearances and 2025 and 2026. 

Kyle Kotrba

Ted Schlipp

Ted Schlipp grew up in Michigan playing goalie for the Ann Arbor AAA club & the Michigan Nationals AAA club, then moved to Canada to play for the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan. He played Junior hockey in Canada, Michigan, & Ohio before starting his coaching career as an assistant coach, head coach, & assistant general manager. Ted coached for about 10 years at the youth 10U (Cleveland Phantoms), high school (St. Ignatius & Kent Roosevlt in Ohio), Junior (Quad City Express & Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks), & college levels (Kent State University). Ted has also coached within USA Hockey from Learn to Skate to teaching USA Level Coaching courses. One of Ted's former players with the Quad City Express was a local Chicagoland player and 2015 Stanley Cup Champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, Scott Darling.

Kristian Casella 

Kristian grew up in the Chicagoland area playing most of his youth hockey with the Sabres and Bruins. He went on to play a few years of Junior Hockey with the Dells Ducks. After his playing days, Kristian entered the trades and started his own business, and has been coaching hockey for the past 8 years at the Peewee, Bantam, and Midget levels with various clubs and programs. He has been a head coach for the Sabres for 6 years, where he has brought home 2 state championships and a 2024 USA Hockey National Championship appearance. He is also currently a Chicagoland scout for the Chicago Cougars Junior Program in the USPHL.

Robbie Kennedy

Robbie grew up playing AA and AAA hockey in the Chicagoland area, some of that time right here with the Naperville Sabres. He went on to play junior hockey throughout the United States and Canada, capturing a Hurster Cup Championship before continuing his playing career at Robert Morris University, where he won two CSCHL League Championships and was a member of the ACHA Division I National Runner-Up team. Rob has over 15 years of coaching and player development experience. He has served as Assistant Director of Midwest Goalie School, Team Illinois AAA Goalie Coach, Naperville Sabres Goalie Director, Carmel Catholic High School Assistant Coach, and Head Coach of the Geneva Cyclones. During his time with the Cyclones, Rob led the program to multiple championships, including an NAPHL The Show Championship, and was selected as a CSDHL All-Star Coach. A USA Hockey Level 4 Coach, Rob has worked with players from Learn to Skate through the junior and collegiate levels and currently serves as a Bantam Heach Coach.

Tony Lindeman

Tony Lindeman played youth hockey in Eveleth, Minnesota, and has spent the past 27 years coaching and developing players. A Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach, Coach Tony has coached across a wide range of levels and programs. He began his coaching career with the Dallas Stars youth hockey organization, later coached in Arizona with the Roadrunners Youth Hockey Club, and—after moving to Illinois—continued coaching with Rocky Hockey, Chicago Mission, Lincoln Way, and Oswego High School before joining the Naperville Sabres. Over the years, Coach Tony has helped guide numerous former players to AAA, Junior A, and ACHA college hockey opportunities. He remains passionate about teaching the game, building player confidence, and helping athletes grow both on and off the ice.

Gary Spratt

Ryan Murtaugh

Kyle Byrnes 

Kyle grew up in Southeastern Michigan and started ice hockey before his 6th birthday. He has many hockey experiences to draw from stemming from his local house program, playing tier II, on traveling tournament teams, tier I and ACHA College Hockey. Kyle and his 3 boys have been with the program for 6 years, where Kyle has worn multiple hats as a Head Coach, Assistant Coach and Level Director for teams of all ages and levels.

Brian Hennessy

Born and raised in Naperville, Brian played youth hockey with the Sabres before playing his high school hockey at Naperville Central, where he was twice honored with selections to the Illinois Showcase and All-State Teams. He continued his hockey journey playing in the ACHA at Michigan State, contributing to the team’s National Championship win in 2006-2007. Transitioning from player to mentor, he began coaching as an assistant with the Chicago Mission and later with the Sabres. After some time away to focus on a growing family, he rejoined Sabres when his son entered the JSHL program, serving as the JSHL coordinator, now head coaching and overseeing Sabre 8U player development.

Jamie Carroll

Jamie Carroll's hockey journey has taken him through every level of the game, giving him a unique perspective on player development from youth hockey to the professional ranks.

Raised in Connecticut, Jamie developed his passion for the game playing youth hockey throughout New England before spending four years at Berkshire School, one of the nation's premier prep hockey programs. He went on to play in the USHL with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders before continuing his career at Providence College. Following college, Jamie played four seasons of professional hockey in both the United States and England. After retiring from professional hockey, Jamie transitioned into coaching and hockey operations. He served as Head Coach of Team Illinois' 18U program for three seasons and now serves as the organization's Director of Player Advancement, helping guide players through the junior, collegiate, and professional pathways. He also serves as Assistant General Manager of the New Jersey Titans (NAHL), where he is involved in player evaluation, recruitment, and roster management. Now returning to the grassroots level of the game, Jamie is excited to coach Mite Hockey alongside his son. He believes the foundation of great players begins with developing a love for the game, building confidence, and creating a fun, positive environment where young athletes can learn the fundamentals while making lifelong memories.

Peyton Rose Norman

Jim Caldwell 

Victor Martinez

Victor grew up playing all levels of hockey in the Chicagoland area from house league to Central states with the St. Jude Knights, Oak Lawn Saints and Darien Huskies. After one year of Junior Hockey he continued his post-grad hockey journey in the ACHA at Northern Illinois University where he was named assistant captain for his Jr and Sr years. He has been coaching for 5 years starting in the YHL at Canlan before moving to the JSHL for a season. He has since then been assistant coaching our Girls 10U program the past 2 seasons.