SPHL's Fayetteville Marksmen introduce coach Ryan Cruthers. Here's what you need to know.
When the Fayetteville Marksmen open their 2023-24 season on Oct. 20, they'll do so under the guidance of a new head coach.
Ryan Cruthers was introduced Tuesday during a press conference at the Crown Coliseum as the director of hockey operations and seventh head coach in team history.
"It's been a long time since I've been able to coach at a high level and have my kids and family around, and this opportunity presents a unique setting where I could coach pro hockey, still be in and around the junior teams that I'm passionate about ... and watch my kids play and get on the ice with them. So, this is an amazing opportunity that I'm super grateful for," Cruthers said.
He comes to Fayetteville from the United States Hockey League's Sioux Falls Stampede, where he served as an assistant coach last season.
A 39-year-old from Farmingdale, New York, Cruthers was head coach and assistant general manager of the USHL's Chicago Stelle during the 2017-18 season and then moved to the North American Hockey League to coach the Corpus Christi IceRays. Before his stint with Sioux Falls, Cruthers helped lead United States Premier Hockey League expansion with the Columbia Infantry.
He played college hockey for two seasons with Army at West Point and then at Robert Morris, where he was a preliminary nominee for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in the NCAA.
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Cruthers also runs three hockey programs out of Charlotte — a youth team and two junior teams — along with his wife, Julie.
"Ryan understands business, which is paramount to success at this level," Marksmen owner/CEO Chuck Norris said during Tuesday's presser.
The Marksmen are coming off a 56-26-22 season in which they finished seventh in the 11-team league to qualify for playoffs.
After the season, coach Cory Melkert accepted a position in the ECHL as an assistant coach to another former Marksmen coach, Jesse Kallechy, with the Fort Wayne Komets — an affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers.
Cruthers already has two-time SPHL champion Kyle Sharkey on his coaching staff, and 2022-23 SPHL Rookie of the Year Austin Alger is on the team's list of protected players.
Cruthers promises to bring fast, puck-possession hockey with suffocating defense to Fayetteville. "We're going to be offensive and we'll defend hard," he said.
"I've been lucky enough to coach three championship teams in a short time and all those teams have one word in common and that's love. It's a word that we use in our game and I don't use it lightly. ... I think the most important thing is the love that our players have for the organization, the brand, the city, the fans, and for each other.
You'll see a commitment to excellence every day."
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: SPHL Fayetteville Marksmen new coach Ryan Cruthers
