Chicago Steel name Casey Mignone assistant coach

Chicago Steel added Casey Mignone as assistant coach on Tuesday, bringing in a Westfield State alum whose path has run from NCAA Division III to the North American Hockey League and now to the USHL bench. The hire came as part of a four-person hockey operations staff addition, a move that continued a sweeping reshaping of Chicago’s behind-the-scenes and coaching structure.

Mignone’s résumé gives the Steel a coach who has been inside junior hockey’s daily grind and the college pipeline it feeds. Alaska Fairbanks named him an assistant coach on July 11, 2023, after four seasons in the NAHL, and that announcement identified him as the former general manager and head coach of the Chippewa Steel. His LinkedIn profile lists Westfield State University as his education and shows work with the Chippewa Steel from August 2021 to July 2023. Westfield State identifies him as a member of the class of 2010, and its hockey news page noted that he was heading to a new coaching position in Muskegon, Michigan.

That Muskegon stop came during the 2025 offseason, when he joined the Lumberjacks’ coaching staff. A July 22, 2026 post from the Lumberjacks thanked Mignone for his time as an associate coach and said he was moving on to Chicago. For the Steel, the hire fits a clear pattern under a staff that has changed quickly over the past year. Chicago named Scott Gomez head coach on June 2, 2025, then watched Mike Garman leave for Notre Dame on May 16, 2025 after eight seasons with the organization. The Steel described Garman as the third-winningest head coach in team history.

Mignone’s path matters for Chicago because it puts a recent player-development voice in front of USHL-age athletes who are trying to get ready for the next level. A coach who has worked at Westfield State, in the NAHL, with Alaska’s bench, and inside multiple junior programs brings a practical view of what players need in daily skill work and how they are evaluated by college staffs. For a club that has already updated its coaches page and hockey operations group, Mignone’s arrival looks less like a routine hire than another step in a reset aimed at keeping prospects moving toward college hockey.