Longtime Sabres scouting director named new coach at St. Joe's
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The former longtime Sabres director of pro scouting has been named as the new federation hockey coach at St. Joe's, the school announced Monday morning.
Jon Christiano, a 1976 alumnus of the school who served in the scouting role for the Sabres from 2007-2014, will be the new head coach at St. Joe's.
Before that he served as an assistant coach under Lindy Ruff on the Sabres bench in the 1998-99 season, and then spent five seasons as an assistant coach for the Rochester Americans. He was on the staff when Rochester reached the Calder Cup final in 2000. He served in multiple different scouting roles for the Sabres from 2004-2017.
He also was an assistant coach with the Italian National Team and served as a video coach for both the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers. He has most recently served as an assistant and player development coach at Nichols School.
"A successful program over the years," Christiano said in an introductory news conference Monday. "For me, a big part of coaching is setting up a culture. We've got an academic culture here, a school culture, I would really love to continue our hockey culture here."
Christiano replaces Richard Crozier, who stepped down in March after 15 seasons as head coach. In 15 years, he won seven Catholic state championships and eight federation titles. He had a record of 310-85-31.
"Jon's understanding and knowledge of hockey, combined with his ability to teach and inspire young athletes, will be extremely rewarding for those fortunate to play under his direction," former Sabres GM Darcy Reiger, who worked with Christiano from 1998-2013, said in a news release. "They will develop character, work ethic, and the qualities necessary to be part of a team that is greater than anything they could have achieved individually."
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.