AARON KAATZ – Head Coach & General Manager
Kaatz joins the Blues with a decorated resume that underscores his ability to lead and develop high-performance athletes. Most recently, he served as an Assistant Coach for Team Manitoba U18 and spent three successful seasons as the Head Coach of the Interlake Lightning U18 AAA program. His extensive background also includes a significant tenure with the Balmoral Hall Hockey program, where he honed his skills in navigating the high-pressure environment of elite prep sports. This wealth of experience ensures that the Blues’ bench is led by a tactician who understands what it takes to succeed at the highest provincial levels.
The new bench boss is eager to integrate his philosophy into the Blues’ culture of accountability.
BRYCE KRAUTER – Assistant Coach & Director of Player Development
Bryce is former player of the MJHL with the Neepawa Titans, Winkler Flyers, and Waywayseecappo Wolverines from 2018 – 2021. He is currently the Director of Operations for PV Elite Hockey. Starting in the 26/27 season, Bryce will oversee player development of the Blues, while his primary coaching focus will be the forward and offensive side of the game.
MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN – Assistant Coach
Michael, an MJHL alum with the Winnipeg Monarchs (formally Freeze), joins the Blues after spending the 25/26 season with the Monarchs as their Goaltending Coach. He has immense experience working on the player development side with experiences in RINK training, and working with minor hockey teams as well. Michael will be responsible for running the Defence and defensive side of the game.
MARTIN GAGNON – Director of Goaltending
Martin returns to the Blues for his 3rd season as the Director of Goaltending. In addition to his work with the Blues, Martin is the Goalie Coach for Winnipeg Ice U18AAA, Winnipeg Thrashers U18AAA, and the University of Manitoba Bisons Women’s Hockey team. His experiences as a player and a coach will help our goalies gain new skills and help them transition to excellence in our league.
STEPHEN DUBIENSKI – Mental Performance Coach
Stephen Dubienski brings more than 20 years of experience across professional sport, athlete development, performance psychology, leadership, and high-performance environments to his role as Mental Performance Coach with the Winnipeg Blues.A former NCAA Division I and a professional athlete. Stephen holds a master’s degree in performance psychology from the University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management from Georgia Southern University. His academic and applied work has focused on the connection between mental performance, behaviour, recovery, resilience, confidence, and competitive performance. His work and research result in a 2016 Ted Talk.His experience spans professional and elite sport, including work with Red Bull Canada, Hockey Canada, Tennis Canada, Golf Canada, the University of Manitoba and the Olympics and high-performance athletes across multiple sports. He has also worked in executive performance and wellness, helping athletes, coaches, executives and leaders develop the mental skills and performance habits required to consistently perform under pressure.With the Winnipeg Blues, Stephen works alongside players and coaches to support the mental side of performance and help create a culture built around preparation, resilience, connection, accountability and growth.A lifelong Winnipegger and former high-performance athlete, Stephen is passionate about developing the next generation of Manitoba athletes and helping young players understand that becoming a better athlete begins with becoming a better person, teammate and competitor. Stephen Dubienski is coming to the Blues to help our players unlock a new level of performance by helping the player understand the mental performance. Stephen has worked with many teams alongside our Head Coach and GM for the past 6 seasons.LANA DEBEER – Head Athletic Therapist
Lana is eager to return for her 25th season with the Winnipeg Blues as a Certified Athletic Therapist. She is a Registered Orthopaedic Technologist and works as a supervisor in the Casting Department at Pan Am Clinic.
Lana is the current president of the Manitoba Society of Orthopaedic Technologists and is on the Ethics Committee for the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association.
EMMA LAJOIE – Athletic Therapist
MURRAY MONKMAN – Assistant GM
Murray, a longstanding coach around Manitoba in various junior leagues, has built himself a long list of connections across Canada. His expertise and relationship building will help players succeed and has already helped the Blues land some key pieces for the current season.
RAY CARRIER – Regional Scout
Ray, a former scout in the SJHL, joins the team with years of experience as a scout throughout Manitoba and Saskatchewan. His knowledge of the game and ability to assess players on the fly, provides immense value to the Blues.
MARK WOLOSHYN – MB U18 AAA Scout
Mark is the Head Coach for the Eastman Selects of the U18 MB AAA League. His insight into emerging players from our provinces feeder league will help position the Blues to be competitive for years to come.
MATT ASMUNDSON – Off Ice Strength and Conditioning
ANDY ZULYNIAK – Skills Development
