Wisconsin Windigo
Hockey
Operations
The coaches and scouts who build the team — championship pedigree behind the bench and eyes from coast to coast. This is how we find them, and this is the #WindigoWay.
Coaching Staff
John Mitchell
Head Coach & GM
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John Mitchell joined the Windigo as its second head coach in franchise history on May 16, 2024. He played four seasons of NCAA D-I hockey at the University of Wisconsin, winning the 2006 National Championship and finishing runner-up in 2010, and was named the Otto Breitenbach Most Improved Player for 2009-10. He then signed an NHL contract with the Anaheim Ducks and played 207 games over four AHL seasons before a final pro year split between the EIHL and ECHL. Mitchell moved into coaching in 2015 with Team Wisconsin 18U, then the University School of Milwaukee, then the Milwaukee Power (NA3HL) as assistant and head coach. Most recently he was associate head coach for the NAHL’s St. Cloud Norsemen, running the bench for the full 2023-24 season.
Matt Roadhouse
VP / Hockey Operations
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Matt Roadhouse oversees hockey operations for the Windigo, coordinating coaching, scouting, and player movement across the organization.
Anthony Rohde
Assistant & Skills Coach
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Anthony Rohde, 33, joined the staff Aug. 5. The Villa Park, IL native most recently served as GM & Head Coach of the USPHL Elite Chicago Cougars and Associate Head Coach of the Cougars’ USPHL Premier squad (2024-25). He spent three seasons with the Dells Ducks (USPHL Premier), two as assistant before being named head coach for 2023-24, and debuted at the high school level at Prosper High in Texas. As a player he competed at Aurora University and in junior hockey with the Minnesota Owls and Dells Ducks, tallying 100+ points in 2012-13. He is head instructor for the Turcotte and C2 stickhandling camps and a skating coach at the Elev802 camp in Vermont.
Graydon Skok
Assistant & Goaltending Coach
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Graydon Skok was a four-year varsity goaltender at New Prague High School (MN) and went on to four years of ACHA D-II hockey at UW-Eau Claire. He spent two seasons as goaltender coach at Northland Pines High School in Eagle River, WI, and joined the Windigo for 2024-25 to assist with on-ice instruction and goaltender development, also supporting the staff with logistics.
Cal Roadhouse
Director of Player Development
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Cal Roadhouse directs player development for the Windigo, supporting on- and off-ice growth for the roster.
The Scouting Network
COAST TO COAST
COAST TO COAST
Western U.S.
01
Mitch Callahan
Western U.S. Scout
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Mitch Callahan, a Whittier, CA native, played three WHL seasons for the Kelowna Rockets and was a member of the 2010-11 USA World Junior team. He signed with the Detroit Red Wings, playing 5 NHL games and 434 AHL games with Grand Rapids, then two AHL seasons in Bakersfield (106 games) with the Edmonton organization, and finished his pro career in Germany and Denmark. Since retiring he has been an assistant coach for the LA Jr. Kings 18U AAA team.
Midwest & Illinois
02
Phil Bushbacher
Illinois & 15U/16U/18U Tier 1 Scout
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Phil Bushbacher is the strength & conditioning coach for the Chicago Reapers AAA organization and a former pro with experience in the ECHL, CHL, SPHL, and across Europe. He holds NSCA-CPT, NASM TSAC-F, NASM-CNC, NASM PES, and PN-1 certifications, with 15+ years of coaching experience from beginners to professionals.
03
Bob Jacobson
Midwest Regional Scout
✉216-407-3057
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Bob Jacobson joined the Windigo as a regional scout for the inaugural 2022-23 season. He retired from coaching after 30 years, the last 17 as GM & Head Coach of the Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks (CSHL, then NA3HL), and has since scouted for Kenai River (NAHL) and Granite City (NA3HL). He graduated from Kent State in 1978, where he played four years of ACHA hockey. (216-407-3057)
04
Taylor Carey
Midwest Regional Scout
✉989-858-6076
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Taylor Carey joined the Windigo during their 2022 inaugural season. He serves as Assistant & Goaltending Coach for Central Michigan University’s ACHA D2 team and scouts for the Granite City Lumberjacks (NA3HL). Before CMU he spent nine years with the Gaylord Blue Devils (USHS-MI) as Associate Head Coach and Goaltending Development Coach, and has worked privately with goaltenders at the AHL, ECHL, NCAA DI/DIII, USHL, NAHL, and NA3HL levels. He holds a B.S. in Management of Health & Fitness from Northern Michigan University and lives in Gaylord, MI. (989-858-6076)
Michigan
05
Rick Gadwa
Michigan Scout
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Rick Gadwa, a native of Brighton, MI, is Manager of Hockey Operations & Programming at the TPH Center of Excellence in Detroit. He coaches the varsity boys team at his alma mater, Hartland High School, and was named Herrington Coach of the Year for guiding the program to its third state title in March 2022. A graduate of Davenport University, where he played three years of college hockey, he later played semi-pro for the Battle Creek Revolution (AAHL).
Minnesota
06
Shea Walters
Northern Minnesota Scout
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Shea Walters is head coach of the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton High School boys team and a former assistant at Hibbing High School. A Hibbing, MN product, he was a first-round USHL pick (Green Bay) and a first-round NAHL pick (North Iowa Outlaws), where he was captain and earned NAHL Forward of the Year, First Team All-NAHL, and an All-Star selection. He played four years at Bemidji State (WCHA), reaching two NCAA Tournaments and a Frozen Four, and finished his career with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.
Eastern U.S.
07
Cameron Isabelle
Eastern Regional Scout
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Cameron Isabelle, from Leominster, MA, joins as an Eastern Region scout with a deep goaltending background. A former goalie at Eastern Michigan and Fitchburg State, he currently serves as Director of Goalie Development for Solid State Goalie and as a volunteer goalie coach at Fitchburg State, while pursuing a full-time coaching career and developing Eastern talent.
08
Zane Kalemba
Eastern Regional Scout
✉201-407-2844
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Zane Kalemba is head of Zero Klub Hockey and formerly Princeton University’s Director of Hockey Operations and Assistant Coach, as well as USA Hockey’s Goaltending Director for the Atlantic District. A Saddle Brook, NJ native and first-round USHL pick, he played four seasons at Princeton, helping capture the program’s second ECAC title and two NCAA appearances. He was named an All-American, Hobey Baker Award Finalist, Ken Dryden Award Winner, and both Ivy League and ECAC Player of the Year. (201-407-2844)
Goaltending
09
Shane Connelly
Goaltending Scout
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Shane Connelly, originally from Philadelphia, played two USHL seasons with the Chicago Steel (.914 SV%) before winning a 2006 National Championship as a freshman at Wisconsin, finishing his Badgers career with a .913 SV% over four years. He played pro in the AHL and ECHL, then began coaching in 2011 as Bowling Green’s Director of Hockey Operations, joined Cedar Rapids (USHL) in 2014 and helped capture the 2015-16 Anderson Cup, and served on two Team USA staffs including the 2018-19 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton.
Wisconsin Windigo Hockey Operations · #WindigoWay
