Alexander “Sascha” Molnar – Founder – Alex is the founder of Molnar Hockey and has been coaching and training hockey players/teams for over 10 years now. A native from Nitra, Slovakia Alex wants to continue be part of the great sport of hockey post his competitive playing days by fostering passion to others and helping them achieve their hockey goals and dreams. Alex and his family currently reside in the Boston area.
Kelly McManus Souza – Coaching Consultant – Kelly’s support and role on our team is invaluable as she will be providing guidance in all aspects of coaching, developing and managing all of our players and teams we work with. Born and raised in Dedham, MA Kelly is a accomplished former hockey player and current hockey coach in the New England Area. She is very respected in the hockey circles ranging from youth to professional level. Her extensive resume includes playing for Boston College where she was assistant captain and top scorer of the team during her junior and senior years in 2000/2001 and 2001/2002. During those years she was also the first ever Patty Kazmeier nominee in Boston College’s history. She has been since inducted into BC’s varsity hall of fame. She is the current director at Assabet Valley Girls Hockey where she is also coaching and under her guidance her teams were able to capture state and national championships. Kelly holds a Juris Doctor from the Massachusetts School of Law in Andover and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College. Kelly’s husband Mike is the current Head Coach at University of New Hampshire. Kelly, Mike and their two daughters reside in Portsmouth, NH.Pertti Hasanen – Coaching Consultant – Pertti Hasanen is the founder of The Pertti Hasanen Hockey Academy. He was a full time Development and skills coach for the New Jersey Devils. His primary role was to help run skill development sessions for prospects to help develop players into future NHL-ers. Pertti has been coaching hockey teams and developing players since 1979, where he started coaching the Tappara Junior organization. His experience spans the globe, serving as head coaches to a number of European professional teams, including Italy, Norway and Finland. He acted as an assistant coach to the Boston University Terriers and UMass Lowell Riverhawks, as well as the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League. Pertti’s special eye for evaluating talent helped him during his stints as European Head Scout for the LA Kings and Calgary Flames. Pertti knows what it takes to make it to the professional level. He has experimented and mastered with various unconventional methods to developing player skills that are necessary for top performance. His method for training is completely original and is not found anywhere else in the world. Over the past few years, he has gained extreme recognition by professional teams for his ability to quickly develop player’s skills. He has been flown out to run camps for the Dallas Stars, Pittsburg Penguins, and Boston Bruins.Martin Uhnak – Director of player and team management – Martin’s primary role is in managing players and teams as well as guiding their development and career paths. Martin is a native from Slovakia where he grew up playing hockey his entire youth and majority of professional career. Martin played at the national team level for the Slovakian U18 and U20 team at the World Championships. His versatile career includes playing at the World University Games, World Roller Hockey games and Roller Champions League games. He is the current European Scout for the San Jose Sharks overseeing players in the Central European Region and General Manager of Philosophers Nitra, a college hockey club he founded in Nitra, Slovakia. Martin holds a PhD in Sports Science with focus on Ice Hockey and a Masters in Business Administration. Martin and his wife and daughter reside in Nitra, Slovakia.Lisa Dias – Leadership and mental strength coach – Lisa’s role on our team is extremely crucial as one of the most important Molnar Hockey values is developing not only athletic abilities but also high quality people. In our mind nothing is accomplished alone and in order for an individual to succeed in hockey or life he or she needs be able to work well in a team environment and have a positive impact on others as well. Lisa is a native Canadian and is a former two sport athlete at the University of New Hampshire (Soccer and Hockey). Lisa holds a M. Ed. in Health and Physical Education and a Doctorate in Education in Leadership and Learning. She had been a head of school in the private sector for the last 15 years and has also been coaching at the youth level during all those years as well. Lisa and her husband and son reside in Nashua, NH.Igor Ziman – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach – Igor plays one of the most important roles on our team as we believe that the foundation of a competitive hockey player at the highest levels is to make sure you have the needed off ice training that is not only limited to lifting weights, running and stretching but always knowing the “why” behind everything Igor puts our players and teams through. Igor is a native from Nitra, Slovakia and will be responsible to plan and put together an off ice training regiment for individuals and team based training sessions to make sure our players feel at their best when they step on the ice. Igor also plays a crucial role in guidance in nutrition, mental strength, recovery, and a wide variety of support he offers to all the players and teams he works with. What makes Igor also unique is the ability to maximize imperfect training conditions without jeopardizing performance. His impressive resume includes working with former and current NHL drafts pics including first round and even top 10 (Boris Valabik, Branislav Mezei, Andrej Meszaros) as well as division 1 hockey players. Igor Holds a Masters in Physical Education from the University of Komensky in Bratislava and a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. He also has several strength and conditioning certifications. Igor and his wife and daughter reside in Nitra, Slovakia
Stephanie Mosher – Skating Coach – Stephanie will be leading and supporting all of our on ice sessions ranging from private to group, from learn to skate to training college and professional hockey players and teams. Stephanie has a fantastic rapport with all players and professionals she gets in touch with. Stephanie’s expertise is in working players skating technique and developing their edges and a variety of skating maneuvers. Stephanie hold the highest levels of skating accomplishments: Gold Medal in the following styles: Moves in the field, Freestyle, Canadian Freestyle. Her training resume includes being part of the Southern New Hampshire Figure Skating Club, Colonial Figure Skating Club and Skating Club of Lake Placid. She is also a Collegiate National Competitor – Senior Ladies – where she was invited guest skater at First Night NH and SNH Figure Skating Club. Professionally she is/was a figure skating coach at Gate City Figure Skating Club, Nashoba Valley Skating, Southern NH Figure Skating Club, Haverhill/Salem Figure Skating Club, Gate City Figure Skating Club and Conway Arena. Stephanie holds a Master’s Degree in Business Education from Southern NH University and a Bachelor’s in Business Marketing for Merrimack College. Stephanie, her husband Bill and two kids reside in Nashua, NH.Jay Philbin – Development Coach – Jay, will be assisting with our on and off ice training sessions and camps. Jay has a great rapport with all players he works with and is a true “hockey guy” with a strong hockey background that includes holding all of Cushing Academy’s Varsity hockey teams points records (329 points in 4 years). Jay played 4 years of D1 NCAA hockey at Merrimack College. Jay is the owner of Jay Philbin Hockey Development, a on and off ice hockey development program based out of Newburyport, MA. Nikko Jokiaho – Skills Coach and director of marketing- Nikko’s primary role on our team will be to assist with on and off ice training sessions as well as directing our digital and social media marketing initiatives. Nikko has a very unique background as he was not on your typical hockey path. He started his youth as a competitive swimmer at which he excelled and later at age 11 started playing hockey. In the competitive hockey world that is considered fairly late, however with consistent training and his natural athleticism he was still able to become Stoneham High School’s captain in his junior and senior year and is also currently playing on UMASS Amherst club hockey team. Nikko is currently the main visuals and social media director for all of UMASS Amherst’s sports teams. He is the founder of his digital marketing company “Visuals by Nikko”. Nikko is currently in his senior year at UMASS and is a candidate bachelor in Kinesiology. Nikko and his family reside in Stoneham, MA. Tori Sullivan – Skills Coach – Tori will be supporting or running our on ice sessions for most of our hockey camps and training sessions. Tori has a great rapport with players and her hockey background and coaching experience is invaluable in helping develop our players on and off ice. Tori is currently playing for the Connecticut Whale in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. She is a two time Isobel Cup Champion with the Boston Pride and a former Division 1 hockey player (Boston College and Northeastern University). She also played for the U18 USA national team at the 2014 women’s world championships in Budapest, Hungary. Tori is a native of West Bloomfield, WI and currently resides in Boston, MA.
Emily Brown – Skills Coach –
Emily will be supporting and running our on and off ice sessions and camps. Emily hails from Blaine, MN and currently is a defensemen for the PWHL BOSTON hockey team. Emily is part of the USA hockey women’s national team program and has been part of the USA vs Canada rivalry series and other USA hockey events. In 2016 she won Gold with team USA at the U18 women’s world championship held in Canada. Emily played all of her 167 NCAA D1 hockey games for the University of Minnesota where she was a three year captain of the team.
Emily was awarded the Herb Brooks award in 2017. The award is given annually to the most qualified hockey player, at the state of Minnesota tournament, who strongly represents the values, characteristics and traits that defined Herb Brooks.
Christina Vote – Skills Coach – Christina will be supporting and running our on ice training sessions. Christina is a native of Arlington, MA and currently plays for Boston University’s women’s hockey team. As a sophomore on the team she finished the 2022/2023 season as the second leading scorer on her team (1st in assist ). Christina’s brother William is currently part of the USA Hockey development team and is committed to play Division 1 hockey at Boston College starting in fall 2023.
^Lana Hardin – Volunteer Coach – Lana will be playing on the Assabet Valley Girls U16 Major team during the 2024/2025 season and plays varsity hockey at Governor’s Academy. In 2023/2024 Lana and her Assabet U14 Major team captured silver at the USA Hockey National Championships. Lana will be assisting with on and off ice training sessions.
