AOTW: Colorado Eagles stay sharp thanks in part to Fairbanks’ Deweese

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Being part of a professional team typically means countless hours on and off the ice, pitch, field, or court; that goes not only for those on the main roster, but also the many behind-the-scenes staffers who aren’t the faces of their respective programs.

Such is the case for Fairbanks native Brayden Deweese, whose interest in athletics and equipment management as a teen has now led him to the Colorado Eagles, a top-ranked squad in the 32-team professional league currently known as the American Hockey League.

Deweese, who is part of a two-person equipment management team for the Eagles, said he got his start while working at a sports rental shop in Anchorage. Simultaneously, he was at the University of Alaska Anchorage — around the time the hockey program was slated to be cut if fundraising efforts were not successful — helping out with equipment management there.

“I saw that they had a position open for students, just to volunteer time with the hockey program, so that’s what I ended up doing there my first year,” he said, explaining that he would log stats and help wherever he could.

The next year, he started working at Play It Again Sports in Anchorage too, where he got more hands-on experience.

“Sharpening skates, gear repairs, learning how to fit gear, learning all the stick specs, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “I really enjoyed that.

“So, my second year with UAA, I just kind of volunteered my time with their equipment manager, Wardo,” Deweese said, referring to Travis Ward, who is now on staff with the Columbus Blue Jackets in Ohio.

“I owe a lot to him. He kinda helped me get in the game.”

At UAA, Deweese was soon doing all of that work for the Seawolves, also taking care of other gear and uniforms; eventually, that led him to a short stint with the Anchorage Wolverines.

Soon, though, the United States Hockey League reached out to him about joining the Sioux Falls Stampede, a Tier I juniors team based out of South Dakota.

“The USHL called me and said they needed an equipment guy, and asked if I was interested,” Deweese said, explaining that an old Anchorage trainer, Jordan Whitsell, had ended up in Sioux Falls. “I was really interested in getting into this line of work. It seemed like it would be a good stepping stone into this world ... it’s nice he thought of me when the job came up, so I kind of owe it to him as well for getting me down there.”

Deweese was in Sioux Falls for three years and said he learned a lot, and “loved every minute there.”

“You’re one equipment guy, on your own; had to learn everything, right away,” he said. “So, it’s kind of tough at first, but you got it.

“I wasn’t really good at sewing,” he laughed. “Started YouTube-ing, ‘How to sew,’ and learned that way. Little things like that, you just have to adjust, learn on the fly.”

In the summer of 2024, Colorado Eagles’ Head Equipment Manager Joe Pionk — the former Eagles assistant equipment manager — moved up, opening a door for Deweese.

“Joe [Pionk] got promoted to the head spot here, and needed an assistant, and we kind of mutually knew people,” Deweese said. “He gave me a call, I said, ‘Yes,’ and have not regretted it.”

Pionk said his first thought when looking for a new assistant was to go to familiar territory — the USHL — and he connected with colleagues, asking if they knew a standout staffer for the open position.

“Three answers, right in a row, I got his name,” Pionk said of Deweese. “We had the exact same USHL experience coming into this job, which was awesome, because I knew what I was getting, what this guy would know, what he would still need to learn.

“There’s a bunch of different backgrounds of players and staffers you get to meet and work with throughout the year, the season,” he added. “It keeps it fun on the day-in, day-out kind of stuff ... At the end of the day, we’re both doing the same job, we’re both managing the equipment, we’re both working toward the same goal.”

The AHL is considered the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League, and given its affiliation with the Colorado Avalanche, Deweese said he’s already had opportunities to work with current NHL athletes, along with the former players who are now part of the Eagles organization.

He hopes to make it to the NHL full-time, even though that wasn’t necessarily a lifelong dream.

“I grew up in a hockey family,” Deweese said, expressing gratitude for them and explaining that his father’s time with the Alaska Gold Kings is what brought his family to the state. His younger brother, Tyler, played for the Ice Dogs, having grown up in Fairbanks.

“Always had hockey in our lives, always went to the Nanooks games growing up; played street hockey at the outdoor rinks every day, so hockey was always there,” he continued. “I kind of strayed away and started playing soccer. That was kind of my thing.

“[It was] like, ‘What?’ My first-born son doesn’t want to play hockey? What’s going on here?‘” he said.

During his sophomore year in high school, a goalie at West Valley — Deweese’s alma mater — was injured and unable to play the full season. The coach found out that Deweese had been playing outdoors in goalie gear from time to time, and recruited him for the team, leading to Deweese playing three years for the school.

Fast forward to 2025, and Deweese is hoping to make a push to an NHL team in the next few years.

Whether or not that happens, he’s already part of a legacy team with a top ranking this season, as the Eagles are currently ranked #1 in the Western Conference and Pacific Division of the AHL.

“We’ve got a really strong group that has bonded well from the start of the season, and it takes an entire staff for that to happen,” Colorado Eagles Head Coach Aaron Schneekloth said. “You see us all working together to give these players the best resources we can to succeed, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it this year.”

Schneekloth, a Calgary native — and NCAA DI champion with the University of North Dakota in 2000 — is now in his second season of leading the team and approaching 20 years with the organization, after having spent 10 years on the Eagles' coaching staff before taking the helm.

In the decade prior, when the Eagles were Colorado’s affiliate for the ECHL — formerly the East Coast Hockey League, of which the now-defunct Alaska Aces were also a part — he helped bring back-to-back Kelly Cup titles to Colorado during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

Schneekloth’s second, Assistant Coach Dan Hinote, also joined the Eagles this year, returning to the Avalanche organization after playing six NHL seasons in Colorado and winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2001. He started his coaching career with the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2010 before becoming a scout, before joining the United States National Team Development program as a coach.

“When you’re hiring staff, you’re looking for the right people for the job, that — one — we can have a strong relationship as a staff, because we spend so much time together,” Schneekloth said. “That’s a great thing about athletics, and sports, and hockey in general, is, once you’re involved, you’re part of a big family.

“When you look at the support staff of any team – but most importantly, hockey — it’s all about all the work that they do behind the scenes, that nobody sees,” Schneekloth continued. “I mean, our equipment staff — Brayden being a big part of it — they’ve got long hours, they’re unpacking wet gear in the middle of the night, so that when the guys wake up, it’s dry, their locker is set. It’s not a position that gets a lot of praise, but it gets a ton of respect, and our guys recognize the work that these guys do for them to have success every day.”

Deweese said he’s grateful for the opportunity with the Eagles and hopes to stick around for a while before he makes any big moves.

Plus, he said, it’s nice to be part of a team like the Eagles — especially with the squad experiencing so much success right now.

“It’s fun still kind of being part of ‘the boys,’ too,” Deweese said. “Guys score, get a high-five on the bench, or your secret handshake with the guys, or your secret nickname with everyone else.

“I missed playing, and having that,” he continued, “so now, not playing, and still having that feeling of being on the team, doing whatever you can to help the guys achieve their goal and win, is really fun. I really enjoy doing that, every day.”

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