Hockey Operations

TOMAS KAPUSTA

DIRECTOR, HOCKEY OPERATIONS

Tomas served as a coach with the Jr Kings organization for eleven years and is currently the High-Performance Director for the Jr Reign in Riverside, Carlsbad, and Paramount. Tomas is regarded as one of Southern California's best youth coaches among his contemporaries.

He was selected by the Edmonton Oilers with the 104th overall pick in the fifth round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft and competed in all three Junior World Championships between 1985 and 1987.

Throughout his 20-year professional career, Tomas represented the Czech Republic, notably at the 1993 World Championship in Germany and the 1994 Olympics in Norway. In 1993, He took home the Elite Finnish League scoring title. Tomas was also a part of each three winning teams in the Czech Republic Extra League.

He graduated from CSULA with a Degree in social science and from CSULB with a teaching credential. Tomas currently teaches at Excel Charter School Academy as an educational specialist.

Through his passion and love for the game, Tomas strives to help each player reach their full potential.

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DOMENICK DICICCO

General Manager

Domenick DiCicco has over 25 years of hockey experience and played for Penn State University, where he graduated with a BS in finance. Soon after, he accepted the position of head coach of the hockey team at Penn State Harrisburg. While there, Domenick swiftly transformed the club into one of the best in the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference and one of the top 25 teams in the nation.

Before joining the San Diego Sabers, he spent the former season building the New York Bridgemen of the Eastern Hockey League, a new program for the New Jersey Titans.

Under Domenick, the Sabers have been growing into one of the top Junior A programs on the West Coast. This last season the Sabers had a successful season achieving a 33-11-2 winning record and advancing to the playoffs. Domenick has already moved players from the Sabers onto higher levels of hockey, including collegiate and pro hockey. He looks to continue developing a winning culture and focusing on player advancement.

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Nick Perez

Head Coach

Emailnick@sandiegosabershockey.com

Nick Perez, a hockey coach with over 26 years of experience, began his career with the Norwalk Knights before traveling to St. Louis to play for the St. Louis Selects and later the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Colorado.

Coach Perez played hockey for the Surrey Eagles in the BCHL for a while before continuing his career with the Beaver Valley NiteHawks in the KIJHL of British Columbia. While there, Nick was named assistant captain and contributed to the team's league-winning season.

Nick soon received a hockey scholarship from Adrian College in Michigan. While there, he helped the team advance twice to the ACHA National Championships.

After graduating from college, Coach Perez returned to California and began working as an assistant coach with the California Wave 18AA. Recently, Coach Perez has served as an assistant coach with the Long Beach Shredders in the USPHL’s Pacific Division for the past two seasons.

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SCOTT HANSEN

HEAD STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH

Building champions in life through sport is Scott’s mission, and for the last 16 years, he’s helped hundreds of athletes from all sports reach their highest potential.

Prior to Resilient, Scott trained private clients at Equinox and was an educator in their Trainer curriculum for 10 years, while also working as a strength and conditioning coach at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, which was voted the #1 Gym in America by Men’s Health. He also served as the strength and conditioning coach of the Valley Junior Warriors (Haverhill, MA) of the EHL.

Scott graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a Certified Functional Strength Coach, and a Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified Coach.

Scott has been coaching high school wrestling at La Costa Canyon High School for the last 4 years, and previously was the head wrestling coach for Malden Catholic High School in Malden, MA.

Scott resides in Carlsbad with his wife Shannon and, when he’s not coaching, you can probably find him at Beacon’s Beach, hiking, or watching the Patriots, Bruins, or Red Sox win championships.

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JASON MARBLE-SMITH

HEAD EQUIPMENT MANAGER

Jason “Smitty” is a native of New Mexico and has lived in the Canadian Atlantic provinces as well as Utah, Arizona, Oregon and now resides in San Diego, CA.

Jason joined the Sabers during the 2020-2021 season after taking a hiatus from sports. Previously he worked with a variety of professional sports teams in various capacities. He worked in MLB for the LA Angels Baseball as a Clubhouse Manager in the minor leagues (Pioneer League and AAA visiting Clubhouse Manager) and also at Spring Training in AZ.

He worked in the NBA for the Utah Jazz as security.

He also worked in the WSHL as a trainer/equipment manager for the Utah Valley Golden Eagles Jr B team.

Jason is excited to be back in hockey and here in Southern California.

“My heart belongs to hockey. The rink is where I have always wanted to be. It is my zen place. It is where I feel most comfortable.”

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Mason Riley

New Jersey/Philadelphia Scout

Mason comes to the Sabers scouting staff with a big focus on goaltending recruiting. Mason ended his playing career at the University of New England NCAA DIII and began goal coaching in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area along with the now-defunct Maine Eclipse.

Ben Johansen

Western Canadian Scout

Ben Johansen began his hockey career in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada before making the leap to Junior A hockey with the San Diego Sabers in 2020.

After two seasons with the Sabers, Ben attended Drury University while playing for their Men’s Hockey team in the ACHA.

Ben was deeply impacted by the "One Team, One Family" atmosphere in San Diego, and he is eager to carry on the tradition of forming strong character traits and excellent habits in players both on and off the ice.

“I was given a great opportunity by the Sabers and Coach DiCicco to prove myself at the Junior A level, and they also helped me realize my goal of playing NCAA hockey.”

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MICHAEL MCKNIGHT

DIRECTOR, FACILITY OPERATIONS

Front Office

JAMES KARR

OPERATIONS, MARKETING

James Karr is a native of Fresno, CA. In 2012, James began working in junior hockey for the Fresno Monsters in the Western States Hockey League. Shortly after, James also began working in Minor League Baseball for the then; San Francisco Giants Triple-A affiliate, Fresno Grizzlies.

In 2015, James left the Fresno Grizzlies to work for the Fresno Monsters full-time as the Director of Operations before being promoted to General Manager in 2016.

After three years as General manager for the Fresno Monsters, James departed the team to take over as Director of Marketing for a strength and conditioning facility, Bullett Performance Training.

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AUSTIN ALEGRE

PUBLIC ADDRESS ANNOUNCER, OPERATIONS

Austin is a native of San Diego County where he grew up watching the San Diego Gulls and eventually the San Diego Sabers.

"I've followed hockey in San Diego since I was six years old and followed each team through thick and thin. It's an honor to now be giving back to this sport that I love so dearly and I look forward to the opportunity of working with the Sabers as Director of Gameday Operations."

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ANDREW ALEGRE

BROADCAST ANNOUNCER

RANDY HERNANDEZ

AV TECHNICIAN, MARKETING

Randy Hernandez has been involved in hockey for 20 years. Born and raised, playing as a defenseman in Fresno, CA. He found his love for the lifestyle at 8 years old and continued his youth hockey career until he left for college in San Diego at 18. Randy pursued a career as an Audio Engineer, but he has always kept his eyes open for ways to stay involved with the hockey community that he enjoys so much.

From doing the music for the Sabers in prior years to helping coach the youth players at Learn to Play every Saturday morning. He found his way back to us and has never looked back.

Initially brought on as a Marketing Coordinator, Randy has since expanded his tasks by bringing in his audio background to help with the HockeyTV streaming and production. He also spends a lot of his time assisting Coach DiCicco with coaching the team and making sure they’re becoming the best players they can be.

“Hockey has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life, and it makes me excited to see these young men live this dream”

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GREG SILLER

PHOTOGRAPHER