Team Information - Elite Hockey Academy

18U AAA/ACADEMY

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Head Coach	Jim Henkel	jim@elitehockeyaaa.com
Assistant Coach	Luke Samuelsson	luke@elitehockeyaaa.com
Director	Peter Alden	palden@elitehockeyaaa .com

Jim grew up in New Jersey playing hockey, notably winning three straight NJ State Championships with Christian Brothers Academy. Coach Henkel played for the Springfield Jr. Pics in the EJHL, winning league championships twice, before attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and earning a degree in Business Management. He then played professionally for eight years in the AHL and ECHL, winning the Kelly Cup with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.
Jim also gained coaching experience as an assistant at the NESCAC school Connecticut College for two years. Since 2014, Coach Henkel has been with the CT Junior Rangers, coaching at various levels (16s, 18s, and Jr.). He holds a USA Hockey Level IV coaching certification and a Level III Officials Certification.

18U AA SPLIT SEASON

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Coach	Rob Salzano	robertsalzano22@gmail.com

Rob grew up playing local youth hockey in Connecticut. He played for Guilford HS ‘92-‘96 and helped bring his team to a DII State Championship. After high school Rob went on to play at the University of Scranton in the ECAC from ‘96-‘00. Rob has been coaching youth hockey for the last 16 years in CT. In 2019 he further pursued his passion and love for hockey and opened SKATE Training Facility in Hamden where he worked with numerous players from mites through Prep School. His reputation over the years has grown for outstanding individual training and skill development. In 2022 Rob started with EHA and will be returning for his third season. In addition to EHA Rob is the Assistant Coach for the West Haven High School Blue Devils.

16U AAA/ACADEMY

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Head Coach	Luke Samuelsson	luke@elitehockeyaaa.com
Assistant Coach	Jim Henkel	jim@elitehockeyaaa.com
Director	Peter Alden	palden@elitehockeyaaa.com

Prior to joining Elite Hockey Academy, Samuelsson was an Assistant and Video Coach for the Reading Royals inthe East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) between 2022-2024. In this role, he ran the defense end on the benchduring games, marked videos, at times clipped live game footage and assisted in recruitment. He was also theAssistant Director of Youth Player Development with the Reading Royals. He led on-ice practices and organizeddrills that nurtured specific skills. Samuelsson was part of the support staff to the head coach of the ReadingRoyals for the 2021-22 season, aiding the head coach and learning skills under the guidance of KirkMacDonald.

16U SPLIT AA

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Head Coach	Rob Salzano	robertsalzano22@gmail.com

BANTAM 14U AAA/ACADEMY

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Coach	Peter Alden	palden@elitehockeyaaa.com

Twelve year coaching veteran and former Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) forward, Peter Alden was named the head coach of the 18U & 16U Elite Hockey Academy teams. He enters his fourth season as head coach of the Elite Hockey Academy along with being the President of the Academy
Before coaching, Alden was a Division 1 hockey player. He played his freshman year at UMass Amherst in Hockey East under the tutelage of the legendary Don “Toot” Cahoon. After a year he transferred home to play for Rand Pecknold and the Quinnipiac University Bobcats. He played three years for the Bobcats and was a part of the first team that played in the ECAC in the history of Quinnipiac.
After college he spent four years at the Choate Rosemary Hall School in Wallingford CT, coaching the boys’ hockey program. As a coach, he has developed three NHL draftees and over 20 Division 1 athletes. His most recent 18U Academy NHL draft pick was Sebastian Bradshaw who was selected in 2023 by the Dallas Stars.

BANTAM 13U AAA

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Head Coach	Dallas Derr	dallas@elitehockeyaaa.com
Assistant Coach	Stepan Sidorkin

Growing up in New Hope, PA, Dallas attended Princeton Day School where he was a four year varsity player. After highschool Dallas Played for the Trenton Habs in the NSHL where he made the All Star Team that went to AAU Nationals in Vegas where they competed against All Star Teams from the WSHL and MWSHL. The following year he played for the Jersey Shore Wildcats and won the NSHL again going to Vegas to compete in the AAU Nationals. After Junior hockey Dallas attended High Point University for two years then transferred and graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. After his studies he got back into hockey taking a Assistant Coaching job with all boys prep school Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. During his five seasons there MBA captured One state title and three regular season titles. While coaching with MBA he also coached in the Nashville Jr Preds organization coaching 8u thru 16u while also working with Total Package Hockey where he was assistant coach with the 2009 overseas team that went to WSI in Prague, Czechia.

SQUIRT MAJOR

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Head Coach	Rob Salzano	robertsalzano22@gmail.com
Assistant Coach	Kurt Garceau	kurtgarceau@gmail.com

MITE MAJOR

TITLE	NAME	EMAIL
Head Coach Head Coach Coach Coach	Tom Rascati Matt Ianucci Dean McGlynn Patrick Shortt	tommyboy356@aol.com Iannucci.matt@gmail.com

Matt was raised in North Branford, CT, where he played high school hockey with North Branford from ’04 – ’08. During his high school years, he also competed at the 16U and 18U AAA levels for the South in ern Stars, winning two New England Championships. Matt brings two years of coaching experience with 8U Mites, where he discovered a passion for mentoring and developing young players. He is excited about the opportunity to guide the next generation of athletes and is eager to contribute to and benefit from EHA’s program as it continues to thrive competitively in the sport of hockey.