Coach Santagata joined the Hawks organization as Assistant Coach for the 2022-23 season, where he helped lead the team to a 27-18-2-0 season and a play-off position. After a year proving himself as Assistant Coach and being instrumental in advancing nine players that season on to college teams Santagata was promoted to Head Coach the following year.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Santagata grew up playing the game, eventually playing junior hockey in the USPHL before moving on to play collegiately for Rider University from 2014-2018, where he was team captain for his last two years. After receiving his Bachelors of Science he attended graduate school in Virginia and also began his coaching career as Head Coach of the 14UAA Potomac Patriots.

Following his time in Virginia, Santagata moved on to Iowa as head coach of the Ames High School Hockey Program, from 2019-2021 and Assistant Coach for the Team Midwest selects. From 2021-2022 J.J. was Head Coach of the Des Moines Jr. Buccaneers as well as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the USHL Des Moines Buccaneers. During the off season Coach Santagata is active with his strength and conditioning/hockey training business, Lead By Example Training, coaching summer teams and running camps and clinics.

Coach Santagata brings his passion for player development on and off the ice to the Sheridan community. Coach Santagata is excited to keep building the Hawks program, developing future teams and continuing to grow the franchise as a high-quality experience and place for the development of aspiring junior hockey players.

Brandon Richardson joins the Hawks this year as our Assistant Coach after working as a scout for the team this past season.  Coach Richardson has a long hockey history.  He started playing ice hockey at age 4 and at 16 he left home for the first time to play junior hockey and pursue a career in the game.  At the junior hockey level, he played in the Central Junior Hockey League winning two league championships, the NAHL, and the USHL where he won the Clark Cup.  Following his time in the highest level lof junior hockey he went on to to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey at University of Nebraska Omaha with a full scholarship.  From college, he went on to play professionally in the Central Hockey League and Southern Professional Hockey League.  After his playing days he coached high school hockey at the varsity level and for numerous travel hockey programs in California.

Coach Richardson has a huge passion for the game and looks forward to passing on the knowledge of great coaches he was lucky to play for including current head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs Sheldon Keefe, and Jeff Blashill who is the current assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and former Head coach of the Detroit Redwings.