06/05/2026
Richard Santos excited to be Chatham Maroons GM again
Richard Santos is back as the Chatham Maroonsβ general manager after one year away, while Brennan Feasey remains the head coach.
Richard Santos is confident his second go-round with Brennan Feasey will be just as successful as the first.
Santos is back as the Chatham Maroonsβ general manager, one year after resigning as head coach and GM.
Feasey remains the head coach after doing both jobs this past season. He guided the Maroons to the franchiseβs best record in Greater Ontario Hockey League history.
βWe worked really well when I was the head coach and he was the assistant,β Santos said about their 2024-25 GOHL championship team. βI donβt see that changing.
βI donβt see any friction between us. I think weβre both in the right mindset. Weβre here for the right things and we want to bring another championship back to Chatham.β
Santos said he has no plans to return to the bench. He had an 87-51-8-4 record in three seasons as head coach.
βBrennan Feasey is the head coach,β he said. βI have all the faith in the world in him. I think heβs a hell of a coach and I think heβs the right guy to lead us to a championship.β
Santos stepped down last July after guiding the Maroons to the second Sutherland Cup in franchise history.
He spent this past season as a Leamington Flyers assistant coach and assistant GM in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. He was also the head coach for the BioSteel Sports Academy under-16 boysβ team in Windsor.
He has left the Flyers but remains the BioSteel U16 coach. He also helps ex-Maroon Eric Palazzolo run daily practices for the BioSteel U18 team.
He kept an eye on the Maroons after leaving and stayed in touch with Feasey.
βI have a good rapport in Chatham,β Santos said. βIt feels like home.β
He praised owners Bill and Karen Szekesy for their support.
βPeople really welcomed me back with open arms,β he said. βThe boys are excited to have me in.β
He wants to be a mentor while relieving Feaseyβs stress of being coach and GM.
βI know how much work it truly is,β Santos said. βHeβs doing a fantastic job. By no means is this a demotion. Weβre going to be working together and making sure that we do the right things.β
Feasey led the Maroons to the best record in the GOHL Western Conference at 37-8-2-3. They lost to the Stratford Warriors in a conference semifinal after suffering injuries to several key players.
Captain Dylan Richter is coming back for his final GOHL campaign after an injury-plagued 2025-26 season.
βHe loves being a Chatham Maroon,β Santos said. βHe loves being part of the organization. Hopefully we can get him to play a lot of hockey for us this year. I think heβs going to be a key contributor to our team.β
Assistant coach Steven Szekesy is returning for his second season.
Assistant coach Scott Case has stepped down for family reasons. The Maroons are seeking a replacement.
They wonβt replace assistant GM Brett Case, who resigned to become the Blenheim Blades GM.
Santos expects to announce the first signings for next season soon.
βWeβre going to try and bring back as many kids as possible and fill in the rest with good kids that want to compete,β he said.
Several BioSteel players took part in the all-star game at the Maroonsβ prospects camp in April. Santos said they were chosen because they had a good camp, not because of their ties to him.
βWe want the best players,β he said. βI donβt care if youβre from BioSteel, I donβt care if youβre from Sudbury or I donβt care if youβre from South Africa, I want the best players in.
βI want us competing. I want us playing hard. And I want us to be a team that, when you come to Chatham Memorial Arena, you know youβre going to be in one.β
