KEVIN GIBSON
General Manager
The Black Hawks hired Gibson at the outset of the 2025 offseason following a six-year stint as a scout for the Detroit Red Wings.
The Michigan native spent the prior six seasons working for his hometown team. His initial focus with the Red Wings centered on college hockey free agents. However, beginning 2021 his assignment was shifted to NHL draft-eligible players. In that time, Gibson developed extensive connections in the midget and junior hockey communities across North America and the wider hockey world. In addition to assessing on-ice abilities, Gibson was also tasked with evaluating the character of pro hockey prospects.
His playing career included time in the United States Hockey League with the Sioux City Musketeers before advancing to the college and professional ranks. At the junior level, the defenseman dressed for over 170 regular season and playoff games from 2008/09 through 2010/11 in the North American Hockey League and USHL.
Moving on to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Gibson helped the Pointers to a pair of Division III national runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015. He was recognized as an All-American during his senior season, graduating a few months later with a degree in Business Management. Gibson’s time on the ice in pro hockey included four seasons in the ECHL.
BRETT OLSON
Head Coach
Olson was named the Hawks' head coach on May 19, 2026 after starting his fulltime coaching career with the organization in the fall of 2022. Olson also played in Waterloo for three seasons from 2005 to 2008. He was voted Waterloo's team captain during 2007/08, then held the same role as an upperclassman at Michigan Tech before beginning a 10-year professional career in 2012, skating in the American Hockey League and Europe.
As a Black Hawk, Olson skated in 151 regular season games, producing 35 goals and 56 assists. He was a member of Waterloo's 2006/07 Anderson Cup Championship team. Olson also took the ice for two Hawks squads which played for the Clark Cup, skating in 20 total postseason games with six goals and 11 assists.
From Waterloo, Olson advanced to Michigan Tech. He finished either first or second in scoring for the Huskies during three of his four NCAA seasons, notching 42 goals and 51 assists in 127 games.
At the professional level, Olson debuted with the Abbotsford Heat in the fall of 2012. After two seasons in British Columbia, his next two campaigns were under contract with the NHL's Florida Panthers, skating for their AHL affiliates in San Antonio and Portland, Maine. All totaled, Olson played in over 500 professional regular season games, notching 286 points (116 goals, 170 assists), including six years in either Germany or Austria.
Prior to becoming a fulltime coach, Olson assisted during Waterloo Orientation and Futures Camps beginning when he was still a player at Michigan Tech. He was also the founder and head instructor for the Twin Ports Pro Development Camp in Superior, Wisconsin, as well as Olson Hockey Development, which hosts a camp here in Waterloo.
CJ EICK
Assistant Coach
Eick followed the path of many players who come to the USHL: skate in junior hockey, produce at the college level, then take the ice as a pro. After a year of coaching experience at Trinity College in Connecticut, he returned to the USHL and joined the Black Hawks staff ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Eick began his junior career with the North American Hockey League’s St. Louis Bandits in 2009/10. He returned to his home region in northeastern Wisconsin during the following two seasons, producing 29 points in 113 regular season games for the Green Bay Gamblers. Eick was a member of Green Bay’s 2012 Clark Cup Championship team and also appeared in the 2011 championship series.
During a four-season stint at Michigan Tech, Eick helped the Huskies to the 2015 NCAA Tournament during his junior year, scoring a goal in the Huskies’ regional overtime loss to St. Cloud State. Overall, he played in 145 college games, recording 14 goals and 38 assists. Away from the ice, Eick graduated from Michigan Tech with a bachelor's degree in sports and fitness management. He began establishing his coaching resume as an instructor for the Michigan Tech Hockey School.
Eick had a notable professional playing career, signing with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL and later appearing as a member of the league’s Kansas City Mavericks and Indy Fuel. Eick skated in 381 regular season games, notching 42 goals and 56 assists.
Wearing an assistant coaches’ whistle for the first time in 2022/23, Eick helped Trinity to a first-place tie in the NCAA Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference. Overall, the Bantams were 16-8-1. The program led the NESCAC in scoring (3.2 goals per game) and scoring defense (1.4 goals allowed per game).
ELLIOTT HOGUE
Goaltending Coach
Veteran goaltending coach Elliott Hogue joined the Waterloo Black Hawks coaching staff ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Hogue has spent more than 15 seasons as an assistant coach, goaltending coach, consultant, and scout across the North American Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and USHL.
Renowned for his expertise in goaltending development, Hogue also currently works with numerous collegiate and professional goaltenders through his business, Hogue Consulting Services. His clientele ranges from youth players to the National Team Development Program to the National Hockey League and everywhere in between.
Hogue will oversee all Black Hawks goaltenders and be responsible for their on- and off-ice development and preparation.
The former netminder grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he played youth and AAA hockey. After that, Hogue spent five seasons playing junior hockey across the United States and Canada. He played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls before beginning his coaching career.
Hogue resides in the Twin Cities.
SPENSER POPINGA
Director of Sports Performance
Spenser Popinga came to the Black Hawks during the 2013/14 season.
An athlete in his own right, Popinga played baseball at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) and later baseball and hockey at Waldorf College. With the Warriors on the diamond, he was named to the Midwest Collegiate Conference First Team as a designated hitter. On the ice, he was an assistant captain and member of the Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association Second Team and participated in the 2013 ACHA Division-II All-Star Challenge.
Previously also in role as the team's equipment manager, Popinga now focuses on managing conditioning and exercise programs for Black Hawks players. He worked as an equipment manager during the 2015, 2018, and 2019 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Games. Popinga was also part of the gold medal-winning delegation which represented the United States during the 2018, 2022, and 2024 World Junior A Challenges and supported U.S. bronze medal efforts in 2019 and 2023.
With Popinga's assistance, 2017 Ottawa Senators' first round draft pick Shane Bowers finished among the top performers during the NHL Central Scouting Combine aerobic endurance tests.
BLACK HAWKS SCOUTS
ZACK THOMPSON
Director of Scouting
Thompson joined the Black Hawks ahead of the 2024/25 USHL season. He spent the prior four years as the Director of Scouting for the Des Moines Buccaneers. In that role, he oversaw scouting, offered player personnel consultation on trade proposals, and managed Des Moines' draft day operations.
The western New York native has also worked for several independent scouting services, evaluating junior-aged talent in preparation for the National Hockey League draft and at other stages of player development..
JAKE VANBESIEN
VanBesien joined the Black Hawk scouting staff in 2022. During the previous six seasons, he had been responsible for tracking statistics like shots and ice time for Waterloo. In addition to helping the Hawks on game nights, VanBesien has also worked for
The Red Line Report and
Future Considerations. Both outlets report extensively on the NHL Draft. A Waterloo native, Jake has been around the Black Hawks organization for over 20 years.
DAVID BROWN
Head Minnesota Scout / Skills Development Consultant
Brown's experience is wide-ranging. He has spent six successful seasons as the head hockey coach at Rogers (MN) High School. Simultaneously he has operated The Base Sports Performance in New Hope, Minnesota, and is the founder of the Minnesota Lakers AAA program.
Under Brown’s direction, the Rogers Royals reached the Minnesota Class AA Boys Tournament for the first time in program history during 2025. Prior to leading Rogers, Brown was an assistant coach at Wayzata High School from 2014 to 2019, including the program’s first state championship in 2016. At The Base Sports Performance, players in the region have access to elite-level training facilities and coaching, focused on enhancing speed, power, strength, and agility. Brown established the Minnesota Lakers in 2019. The program provides opportunities for players to develop their skills on competitive teams in tournaments and also practices from March through the late spring, then resuming ahead of the traditional Minnesota hockey winter season.
JERRY FREISMUTH
Freismuth has been working with high-level athletes in the Pittsburgh area since 2017 as a coach and administrator in the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program. He currently serves as Director of Hockey Programming at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex and also serves as a skill development professional within the EXCEL Hockey Academy. During his playing career, Freismuth skated in the NAHL for the Alexandria Blizzard. He went on to play college hockey, first at Bowling Green, then later at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he was a two-year captain.
ANDREW KOLB
A Toledo native, Kolb played four seasons of junior hockey, followed by a four-year NCAA career at Wisconsin Stevens Point, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Social Science.
After college, Kolb had a brief stint in professional hockey, then spent three seasons coaching in the NA3HL with the New Ulm Steel, including two as head coach. He also was involved with skill development camps, clinics, and the Minnesota Hockey High Performance Program.
Kolb, currently resides in Traverse City, Michigan.
