Golden Gopher men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko, along with USA Hockey, has named the coaching staff for the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team.
Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass./Boston College), Steve Miller (Sun Prairie, Wis./University of Minnesota), and Garrett Raboin (Detroit Lakes, Minn./Augustana University) have been named assistant coaches for the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team, it was announced today by USA Hockey. In addition, David Lassonde (Durham, N.H./USA Hockey) was tabbed goaltending coach and Jacob LeRoy (Dublin, Ohio/University of Minnesota) and Travis Winter (St. Cloud, Minn./Bemidji State University) were named video coaches.
The group will work with Motzko (Austin, Minn./University of Minnesota), who has previously been named head coach of the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team.
The U.S. enters the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship – which will be played in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, from Dec. 26, 2025 – Jan. 5, 2026 — having won gold in the previous two World Juniors. Ticket information is available here.
ABOUT BROWN
Greg Brown, a two-time Olympian as a player and the current head men’s ice hockey coach at Boston College, will serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Junior Team for the fourth time.
Brown has helped guide two U.S. National Junior Teams to medals, including gold in 2017 and bronze in 2018. He was also part of the staff of the 2014 squad that finished in fifth place.
A native of Scituate, Mass., Brown has served as head coach at BC the past three seasons, guiding the Eagle to two NCAA tournament appearances, including a spot in the 2024 national title game. The 2024 Spencer Penrose Award recipient as the top coach in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey led Boston College to both the 2024 Hockey East regular-season and tournament championships.
Brown spent 14 seasons behind the bench for the Eagles from 2004-18 as part of former head coach Jerry York’s staff, helping BC earn national championships in 2008, 2010, and 2012. After eight seasons as an assistant coach, he was elevated to associate head coach following the 2012 NCAA title.
Brown’s coaching career has also included one season (2021-22) as bench boss of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints and three campaigns (2018-21) as an assistant coach of the NHL’s New York Rangers.
Brown played collegiately at Boston College and went on to compete professionally for 13 seasons, including four campaigns in the NHL. He represented the United States at both the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Winter Games and also played on two U.S. National Junior Teams and three times was a part of the U.S. Men’s National Team at the world championship.
ABOUT MILLER
Steve Miller, associate head coach of the University of Minnesota men’s ice hockey team, has influenced significant success both at the collegiate level and on the world stage during his time behind the bench over parts of the last five decades.
Miller has served as an assistant coach for eight previous U.S. National Junior Teams, with six medals to his credit, including gold four times (2025, 2024, 2021, 2017), silver in 2019 and bronze in 2018.
Over his more than 35-year coaching career, which began at St. Mary’s University in 1988-89, and has included stops at Miami University, University of Denver, Providence College, Air Force Academy, Ohio State University, and today Minnesota, Miller has three NCAA national titles to his credit, along with numerous conference regular-season and post-season championships, and NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native – who was honored with the American Hockey Coaches Association Terry Flanagan Award in 2009 recognizing an assistant coach’s career body of work — has coached or recruited more than 25 players who are currently playing in the NHL.
ABOUT RABOIN
Garrett Raboin will enter his third season as the head men’s ice hockey coach at Augustana University in 2025-26. He will serve as an assistant coach of the U.S. National Junior Team for the third straight year.
Prior to arriving at Augustana, Raboin spent four seasons as an assistant men’s ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota, highlighted by helping the Gophers to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2023. During his time with at Minnesota, the Gophers won the Big Ten championship in 2022, and made NCAA Tournament appearances (2021, 2022, 2023).
Prior to joining the Gophers, Raboin spent six seasons as an assistant men’s ice hockey coach at his alma mater, St. Cloud State University, and helped guide the Huskies to five trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a spot in the 2013 Frozen Four, along with three NCHC regular-season championships.
As a player, Raboin was a two-time All-WCHA selection and led St. Cloud State to three NCAA Tournament berths. He went on to play professionally in Europe for two seasons.
ABOUT LASSONDE
David Lassonde, the national goaltending coach for USA Hockey, has more than 35 years of coaching experience over parts of five decades, including time behind the bench for 16 international events.
Most recently, Lassonde was part of the coaching staff that helped the U.S. to a bronze medal in the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship. In addition, he was part of the staff of the gold medal-winning U.S. National Junior Team at both the 2025 and 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships.
He served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship where Team USA won gold and was also on the coaching staff for the silver medal-winning U18 squad in 2022 as well as the 2024 team.
The Durham, New Hampshire, native also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games; four other U.S. National Junior Teams, including the silver medal-winning 2019 squad and gold medal-winning 2013 team; the 2015 championship-winning U.S. Under-17 Select Team; and the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that finished second at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
Lassonde boasts a 32-year NCAA Division I men’s hockey coaching career that includes stops at Dartmouth College, University of Denver, University of New Hampshire, Miami University and University of Wisconsin with 20 NCAA Tournament berths, including five appearances in the Men’s Frozen Four. He was honored with the American Hockey Coaches Association Terry Flanagan Award in 2007 recognizing an assistant coach’s career body of work.
ABOUT LEROY
Jacob LeRoy, director of hockey operations for the University of Minnesota’s men’s ice hockey team, is serving on the staff of the U.S. National Junior Team for the first time.
The Dublin, Ohio, native joined the Golden Gophers staff ahead of the 2021-22 season, aiding Minnesota to back-to-back Big Ten regular-season championships in his first two seasons with the program. In his four seasons with the Gophers, Minnesota has made four NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Frozen Four and a spot in the 2023 national championship game.
LeRoy spent four years as a student assistant of hockey operations at Ohio State University prior to joining Minnesota. The Buckeyes earned two NCAA Tournament berths during his time with the team, including a run to the 2018 Frozen Four.
ABOUT WINTER
Travis Winter, associate head coach of the Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team, is serving on the staff of the U.S. National Junior Team for the first time.
The St. Cloud, Minnesota, native has been part of the Beavers coaching staff for the last 11 campaigns, including the first eight as assistant coach and the last three as associate head coach.
Previous to his time at BSU, he was the head coach and director of hockey operations for the Aberdeen Wings of the NAHL for one season (2013-14). Prior to that, he spent parts of four seasons (2009-10 to 2012-13) serving as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
Winter was also a volunteer coach for the Saint Johns University (Minn.) men’s ice hockey program in 2009 and served on the coaching staff of the USA Hockey Selection 15 National Camp in 2010.
As player, Winter was a four-year letterwinner (2005-09) for Bemidji State where as a senior he served as captain and helped the Beavers to the program’s first-ever Frozen Four appearance in 2009.
(info courtesy of USA Hockey)