Brandon Naurato is an American former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and current head coach for

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Playing career

Naurato's college career began in the fall of 2005 when joined the ice hockey team at

. He played for legendary head coach

Red Berenson Gordon Arthur "Red, The Red Baron" Berenson (born December 8, 1939) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team from 1984 to 2017. Berenson was inducted into Canada's Sports ...

during a very successful time for the program. Naurato provided depth scoring for a Wolverine team that won 109 games during his 4-year tenure, making the NCAA tournament each season. After graduating with a degree in general studies, Naurato played professional hockey for parts of 4 seasons. He saw some success at the lower levels of the sport but decided to hang up his skates after the 2012 season.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Naurato worked for

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

as the Director of player Development for almost eight years. Near the end of his stint with the organization, he took on additional responsibilities as a player development consultant with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. In August of 2021, after former assistant

Kris Mayotte Kristofer Mayotte is the current head coach for Colorado College. Previously he was an assistant coach at Providence and helped the team win its first national championship in 2015. Career Mayotte began his collegiate career at Union College i ...

was hired to be the head coach at

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

, Naurato joined the staff at his alma mater. During the 2022 offseason, Michigan's head coach,

Mel Pearson Melvin K. Pearson (born February 8, 1959) is a former college ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team. Pearson played for Michigan Tech from 1977 to 1981, then served as an assistant coach for ...

, was accused of mistreating both players and staff during his tenure with the Wolverines. In early August, Pearson was dismissed from his position and the program scrambled to find his replacement. Because the vacancy happened so close to the start of the next season, the Wolverines were not able to perform a typical hiring search. On August 7, 2022, Michigan promoted Naurato to interim head coach for the 2022–23 season. On March 31, 2023, Naurato was promoted to permanent head coach, agreeing to a five-year contract.

Career statistics

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Naurato, Brandon 1985 births American ice hockey coaches American ice hockey forwards Living people Ice hockey people from Michigan People from Livonia, Michigan Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Omaha Lancers players Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey coaches Stockton Thunder players Toledo Walleye players Port Huron Icehawks players Fort Wayne Komets players Dayton Gems (2009–2012) players