Player Development
Lake Erie Panthers Hockey Association is pleased to announce we will be continuing our agreement with Ohio Hockey Project for the 2024-25 season. Ohio Hockey Project's mission is to assist with player & coaching development, skill delivery, program enrichment, and ultimately help to ensure each athlete and family has a tremendous experience playing for our program! Ohio Hockey Project will be instructing LEPH players on selected Monday night skills sessions throughout the season. As well as goaltenders on selected Sunday night sessions.
RUSS SINKEWICH
Born and raised in Westlake, Ohio, Russ Sinkewich, has worked his entire career as a proud ambassador of both the sport as well as Cleveland Hockey. Russ is proud to say he’s had the privilege to play at every single level the City (& State) has to offer: CSHL (N.Olmsted), AAA Youth Hockey (Barons), Ohio H.S. (St. Edward), NCAA (BGSU), Professionally (Cleveland Monsters, AHL). A graduate of Bowling Green State University where Russ played Division I Hockey, he graduated in the winter of 2008 with a Bachelor Degree in Sport Management and a minor in Business Entrepreneurship. Russ brings nearly 17 years of player development, and skill coaching to the table and boasts an impressive playing resume that he is able to draw from.
SHANNON SZABADOS
Growing up in Northern Edmonton, Shannon brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our Organization! Shannon played for the men’s teams at Grant MacEwan University and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Shannon helped Grant MacEwan to a silver medal in the Alberta College Athletic Conference (ACAC), and in her final year with NAIT she set the regular season record for shutouts (5) lowest goals against average (1.58) and won the ACAC Championship. Shannon is a 2 time Olympic gold medalist in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 and Silver Medalist in 2018. In the 2010 & 2018 Winter Olympics Shannon was named top goaltender.
Following the 2014 Sochi Olympics the Columbus Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) was the next stop in Shannon’s career where she was the first female to play in the SPHL and the first woman ever to record a shutout in a men’s professional hockey league. Shannon is one of the best technical teachers in the game and has the ability to communicate details in an extremely effective manner. We are honored to have a trailblazer like Shannon be part of the Ohio Hockey Project and Lake Erie Panthers Hockey Club!
ED ZDOLSHEK
Growing up in Parma, Ohio, Eddie played his youth career for the Parma Flyers. After a successful youth hockey career, Eddie went on to be one of the best high school hockey goalies of all-time at St. Ignatius High School. After an extremely successful high school hockey career, Eddie played 3 years of junior hockey in the MetJHL, and the CCHL before being recruited to play Division 3 hockey at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York.
Eddie was lucky enough to play a season of professional hockey for the Watertown Wolves in the FHL, and was lucky enough to spend some time with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL during that season.
Eddie does a tremendous job communicating the technical aspects of the position as well as acting as a beacon of positivity for our young goalies.