Coaching Staff

Steve "Harry" Harrison was announced as the third head coach in Thunderbirds history on July 29th, 2023. Born in Toronto, Canada, Harrison played major junior in Canada and was drafted by St. Louis in the 1978 NHL Draft leading to a 15 year professional career across various leagues in the US, Canada and Europe. 

After his playing career, Harrison started his coaching career with the Forth Worth Fire of the Central Hockey League as their head coach, coaching the Fire for two seasons. Following his tenure with Forth Worth, Harry saw time as the Head Coach of the Minot Top Guns and spent numerous years as an Assistant Coach in the OHL with the Erie Otters and Soo Greyhounds. 

In 2014, the Toronto native was named the Head Coach of the Danville Dashers of the FPHL, leading them to a championship in 2017, taking down the Berlin River Drivers in five games. 

Coach Harry is married to his wife, Laurel, and have two children, Andrew and Jacqueline. Their son, Andrew, played professional hockey and is now the Head Coach for the Knoxville Ice Bears. 

John Buttitta is in his fourth season with the Carolina Thunderbirds. In addition to his duties as Captain, Buttitta was named Player/Assistant Coach on February10th, 2022. 

Before his career in the FPHL, the Cleveland, Ohio native set records at Kent State University. Currently, he is the all-time leader in goals (121), assists (150), points (271) and games played (175) for the Golden Flashes.

Buttitta earned a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Communications from Kent State in 2019.