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Princeton University Athletics
Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast
Men's Ice Hockey Adds Russell, Jeszka To Coaching Staff
September 04, 2026 | Men's Ice Hockey
Princeton will welcome Jamie Russell and Griff Jezka to its men's ice hockey coaching staff ahead of the 2026-27 season as announced by Hobey Baker '14 Head Coach of Men's Ice Hockey Ben Syer.
Russell joins the staff as an assistant coach, while Jeszka will serve as Director of Hockey Operations for the Tigers.
"I am thrilled to add a coach of Jamie Russell's caliber to our coaching group," Syer said. "He has experienced it all as a coach, serving as both a head coach and an assistant as well as leading hockey operations. His wealth of knowledge and ability to impact the player development and career arc for our student-athletes will be tremendous assets for our program."
Jamie Russell brings 32 years of coaching and hockey operations experience at the prep, collegiate and professional levels to his role with the Tigers.
From 2003-04 through 2010-11, Russell was head coach at Michigan Tech where he was named 2007 WHCA Coach of the Year and was finalist for the 2007 National Coach of the Year award. Other collegiate coaching stints include tenures as an assistant at Ferris State (1994-95 through 1998-99), Cornell (1999-2000 through 2002-03) and Providence (2011-12 through 2013-14).
While coaching collegiately, Russell was on staff at Cornell for its 2003 ECAC regular season and playoff championships as the Big Red ascended to No. 1 in the country during the 2002-03 season and reached the Frozen Four. He also was instrumental in recruiting players to Providence that would go on to win the 2015 NCAA Championship. Along the way he coached numerous players to eventually become Hobey Baker Award finalists, All-Americans and All-Conference selections.
Starting in 2014-15, Russell then spent the next six years in the ECHL where he was head coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the Elmira Jackals during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons before spending the next four seasons with the Worcester Railers (2016-17 through 2019-20) where he served as head coach and General Manager over his time with the organization.
Russell spent parts of the next four seasons coaching elite prep hockey at the South Kent School and Selects Academy where he helped over numerous players secure Division I commitments and had multiple NHL Draft Picks.
In January of 2024, he returned to professional hockey in Slovakia and guided HKM Zvolen to a 7-3-2 record to conclude the regular season and a first round series win in the playoffs. In 2024-25, he served as head coach of Ruttner Buam in the Alps League where the team went 24-12-5-3 and finished second in the regular season while winning the 2024 Supercoppa. Most recently, Russell was head coach and General Manager of the Fife Flyers in the Elite Ice Hockey League.
A 1989 graduate of Michigan Tech, Russell earned a degree in Business Administration before securing his MBA from Lake Superior State in 1992. An assistant captain at Michigan Tech, Russell went on to play professionally with the Binghamton Whalers in the AHL and Winston-Salem in the ECHL as well as Kristianstad in Sweden.
Jeszka most recently spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach in the North American Hockey League. After spending the 2023-24 season with Kenai River, he coached the last two years with the Watertown Shamrocks.
"I am thrilled to welcome Griff to the Princeton men's hockey program," Syer said. "He has quickly risen the ranks as a young coach and has been mentored along the way by many great hockey minds. His acumen for film breakdown combined with his aptitude for identifying areas for skill development will be a welcomed addition to our staff."
His foray into coaching began after a three-year stint as a professional player with multiple teams in the ECHL including the Indy Fuel, Kansas City Mavericks, Tulsa Oilers and Iowa Heartlanders.
In addition to his junior coaching career, Jeszka has been a Skills Coach with Scorer's Edge since 2012.
A 2020 graduate of Merrimack, Jeszka played the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons at Merrimack after opening his collegiate career with two seasons at UMass from 2016-17 through 2017-18. Jeszka was named to Hockey East's All-Academic team all four seasons he played collegiately and was named a Hockey East Top Scholar all four seasons.
Russell joins the staff as an assistant coach, while Jeszka will serve as Director of Hockey Operations for the Tigers.
"I am thrilled to add a coach of Jamie Russell's caliber to our coaching group," Syer said. "He has experienced it all as a coach, serving as both a head coach and an assistant as well as leading hockey operations. His wealth of knowledge and ability to impact the player development and career arc for our student-athletes will be tremendous assets for our program."
Jamie Russell brings 32 years of coaching and hockey operations experience at the prep, collegiate and professional levels to his role with the Tigers.
From 2003-04 through 2010-11, Russell was head coach at Michigan Tech where he was named 2007 WHCA Coach of the Year and was finalist for the 2007 National Coach of the Year award. Other collegiate coaching stints include tenures as an assistant at Ferris State (1994-95 through 1998-99), Cornell (1999-2000 through 2002-03) and Providence (2011-12 through 2013-14).
While coaching collegiately, Russell was on staff at Cornell for its 2003 ECAC regular season and playoff championships as the Big Red ascended to No. 1 in the country during the 2002-03 season and reached the Frozen Four. He also was instrumental in recruiting players to Providence that would go on to win the 2015 NCAA Championship. Along the way he coached numerous players to eventually become Hobey Baker Award finalists, All-Americans and All-Conference selections.
Starting in 2014-15, Russell then spent the next six years in the ECHL where he was head coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the Elmira Jackals during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons before spending the next four seasons with the Worcester Railers (2016-17 through 2019-20) where he served as head coach and General Manager over his time with the organization.
Russell spent parts of the next four seasons coaching elite prep hockey at the South Kent School and Selects Academy where he helped over numerous players secure Division I commitments and had multiple NHL Draft Picks.
In January of 2024, he returned to professional hockey in Slovakia and guided HKM Zvolen to a 7-3-2 record to conclude the regular season and a first round series win in the playoffs. In 2024-25, he served as head coach of Ruttner Buam in the Alps League where the team went 24-12-5-3 and finished second in the regular season while winning the 2024 Supercoppa. Most recently, Russell was head coach and General Manager of the Fife Flyers in the Elite Ice Hockey League.
A 1989 graduate of Michigan Tech, Russell earned a degree in Business Administration before securing his MBA from Lake Superior State in 1992. An assistant captain at Michigan Tech, Russell went on to play professionally with the Binghamton Whalers in the AHL and Winston-Salem in the ECHL as well as Kristianstad in Sweden.
Jeszka most recently spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach in the North American Hockey League. After spending the 2023-24 season with Kenai River, he coached the last two years with the Watertown Shamrocks.
"I am thrilled to welcome Griff to the Princeton men's hockey program," Syer said. "He has quickly risen the ranks as a young coach and has been mentored along the way by many great hockey minds. His acumen for film breakdown combined with his aptitude for identifying areas for skill development will be a welcomed addition to our staff."
His foray into coaching began after a three-year stint as a professional player with multiple teams in the ECHL including the Indy Fuel, Kansas City Mavericks, Tulsa Oilers and Iowa Heartlanders.
In addition to his junior coaching career, Jeszka has been a Skills Coach with Scorer's Edge since 2012.
A 2020 graduate of Merrimack, Jeszka played the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons at Merrimack after opening his collegiate career with two seasons at UMass from 2016-17 through 2017-18. Jeszka was named to Hockey East's All-Academic team all four seasons he played collegiately and was named a Hockey East Top Scholar all four seasons.
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