Staff

Scott Brand

President/General Manager

What can we say about Scott Brand that he hasn’t already said about himself? Brand is a product of amateur hockey having played youth hockey in Michigan, Iowa, Texas, and Illinois.

After a “career” (not a very good one either) in Junior hockey, he spent eight seasons as an on-ice official in the United States Hockey League, International Hockey League and the East Coast Hockey League.

After leaving the ice, he held the position of Vice-President and General Manager of the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League from 1992-96 where he guided the team to set record crowds, corporate sponsorship and the building of a new arena. He also founded the Waterloo Bucks, the 1st expansion team in the Northwoods College Baseball League in 1995 and was named executive of the year. In May of 1996, he was named the Vice-President of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, where he increased attendance for two seasons in a row.

In 1998, and for the next 14 seasons, he guided USA Hockey’s Officiating Development Program along with being the Director of Hockey Operations with the USHL. Under his direction, 15 officials advanced to sign National Hockey League contracts (including Cottonmouths player Peter McDougall) and over 250 into minor professional & college hockey.

He is also the inventor of the icing rule that is used by every major hockey league in the world. In 2008 Brand received the Distinguished Service Award from the United States Hockey League and in 2012 he was inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame.

2013 saw Brand hired by the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, the team won the 2014-15 Anderson Cup Championship and he directed 22 of the team’s top 25 crowds, in 2015 the team was sold and Brand returned home to his family farm in St. Louis, MI, where he helped start a local farmers market and was named Vice President of Operations for Pure Pro Wrestling, a Michigan based sports entertainment promotion.

In 2016, Brand was lured back into hockey and was named the President & General Manager of the new Carolina Thunderbirds. Brand set attendance and corporate sponsorships records in Winston-Salem, along with securing that teams longevity in the community. During the 2018-19 season that team would go on to winning a record 24 games in a row, the regular season championship and the playoff championship along with selling out the building a record 13 times.

In June of 2019, he was hired as to the position of President/General Manager of the Columbus River Dragons.

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Shannon Rutledge

Assistant General Manager

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Shannon was born and raised in Chicago, IL and earned her B.A. in marketing from Aurora University. Her free time is spent exploring the Columbus area with her two dogs, and putting her creative brain to work renovating a 90s Winnebago motor home.

Shannon has lived in multiple states including Wisconsin, Michigan, Mississippi, Florida, and now Georgia by way of her husband’s hockey career. She has a love for the game and is excited to be a part of the River Dragons team!

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Jerome Bechard

Head Coach

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When you hear the name Jerome Bechard, you might immediately think, “tough Columbus Hockey." Jerome was the 115th overall pick in the sixth round of the NHL draft by the Hartford Whalers. He signed with the LA Kings and played two years with their farm team in New Haven, Connecticut. Jerome’s hockey career took him to the Birmingham Bulls for four years before spending the next twenty-one years in Columbus as a player and coach.

After the Cottonmouths franchise dissolved, Jerome’s love for Columbus and his desire to serve people, led him to a career in real estate and he joined Coldwell Banker in 2017.

Jerome and his wife Rhonda have two daughters Alex, a graduate of the University of Georgia and Kylie who attends and plays soccer at Auburn University.

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Brant Sherwood

Assistant Coach/Head Scout

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Brant is currently serving as an assistant coach and head scout for the River Dragons this season after the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs announced a year of dormancy in the SPHL.

Brant is a seasoned veteran of pro hockey making his debut in the FPHL with Berlin back in 2015-16 and ascending as high as the ECHL in 2018-19 where he appeared in 14 games for the Norfolk Admirals.

Brant is a Rochester, NY native.

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Chason Perry

Director of Strength & Conditioning

With a Bachelors in Exercise Science and a Masters in Athletic Coaching with an emphasis in Strength and Conditioning, Coach Perry brings a wealth of knowledge to the River Dragons.

He has over 12 years experience coaching at every level with every type of athlete imaginable. Coach Perry has worked as an Assistant or Head Coach capacity with the Atlanta Thrashers (NHL), West Virginia University Athletics, Morgantown High School, US Army Infantry OSUT Brigade, and over 5 years with a US Special Forces unit where he built the entire program for Operators at Fort Benning, Hunter Army Airfield, and Joint-Base Lewis McChord.

He also owned and developed the largest youth training center in Cincinnati, OH prior to moving to Columbus, GA in 2011.

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Brian Stoya

Equipment Manager

Brian Stoya is in his first season with Columbus. Brian served as the Head Equipment Manager for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL for two seasons, and interned with Union College and SUNY Cortland's hockey teams while pursuing his BA degree in Sports Management from SUNY Cortland.

Brian played youth hockey while growing up in Lake George, in upstate NY, played Junior Hockey with the Adirondack Jr. Wings and Junior College Hockey at Mohawk Valley Community College.

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Jay Croop

Vice President of Corporate Partnerships

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Jay Croop, a native of Waunakee, Wisconsin, played high school hockey for the Waunakee Warriors. After high school, he moved to Richmond, Virginia to play junior or the Richmond Generals where they won back to back division titles and one league championship his last year with them. Following juniors, Jay went out west to play for the Williston State College Tetons, where they played for a NJCAA national championship. Jay has played five years of professional hockey in the FPHL and won his first professional championship last year with the Carolina Thunderbirds.

Jay has one older brother, Jared, and three younger sisters, Jocelynn, Taylor, and Ava. Jay’s sister, Taylor, is a two time national champion for Auburn University’s Equestrian team.

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Diego Wilson

Vice President of Corporate Partnerships/Special Projects

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Diego moved down to Columbus, from Lansing, Michigan where he grew up playing hockey. His career took him all across the country from Junior hockey in Richmond, Virginia to Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. It has also allowed him the opportunity to earn his B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His continued love for the game has now led him to the River Dragons where he will be working in the front office.

Diego is the youngest of four with two older brothers, Tony & Michael, and one older sister Kristal. He is also the proud Uncle of his niece Raquel.

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Sydney Vadney

VP of Ticketing

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Sydney is from Monroe, GA. She played collegiate DII soccer at Columbus State University and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology! She is always happy to assist with tickets!

Taylor Blackwell

Game Night and Event Operations Manager

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Taylor was born and raised right here in Columbus, but her career in baseball started at her alma mater, Georgia College, as the Media Director for the athletic department. Her career with summer collegiate baseball organizations in marketing, promotions and entertainment has taken her to several states, which is how she found her way to Ignite Sports.

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Zak DeBeaussaert

Vice President of Communications/Play-by-play Announcer

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Prior to working in professional hockey, Zak was a traffic reporter, producer and play-by-play man for local radio in Lansing, Michigan. He got his start doing play-by-play back in college and the fire has stayed with him ever since. He is a graduate of Grand Valley State University and has been involved in the sport of hockey in some way as a player, referee, broadcaster and/or administrator for over 13 years. Zak is a native of Shelby Twp., MI.

Taylor St. Jacques

Community Relations Manager

Born in Edmonton and raised stateside in Glen Allen, VA, Taylor is a senior at Auburn University majoring in Business Administration with a focus in management.

When not in school or with Ignite Sports, Taylor is a world-class show jumper with the Auburn Equestrian team and has won 3 SEC titles and 2 national titles with the Tigers.

Her family is filled with hockey players, not only did she play growing up but her brother Jay plays with the River Dragons and her other brother, Jared played in college. She also has an uncle that is the current head coach of the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes.

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