Meet The Team
Founder, President
Max Maksimyadis started playing hockey when he was 7 years old with the New York Raptors. He played for two other teams (Southern Conn Storm and the Montgomery Cheetahs) after he founded the Northern Bravehearts. Max started playing goalie at 8 years old and fell in love with the position and never looked back. Max won the USA Disabled athlete of the year in 2008, which was the last year the award went to a Special Hockey player. Max is dedicated to ensuring that hockey is a sport for everyone!
Max Maksimyadis
Luke Alessandro
Player of the month!
Luke is a sophomore at Danbury high school and previously skated with the Southern CT Storm. He has two older sisters, one of which played varsity girls ice hockey for the DHS-Ridgfield co-op team. Luke participates in Rhythm Works adaptive dance classes at Spotlight Dance company in Newtown. He also enjoys Unified basketball at DHS. He is having a blast skating with the Bravehearts and looks forward to post-practice meals the most.
Ryan Marcus
Volunteer Coach, Treasurer, Web Designer
Ryan is a Senior at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY, where he plays on the Varsity Hockey Team. Ryan also plays for the Bedford Bears, and he played for the Westchester Express for many years. Ryan has been working with the Northern Bravehearts Hockey Club for over 5 years. He loves coaching players of all ages and abilities. Recently, Ryan incorporated Bravehearts as a 501 (c) (3) and ran a fundraiser. He is a passionate hockey player and advocate for the special needs community. Ryan has a younger sister, Kirsten, and a rescue dog named Champ.
Dom Alessandro
Head Coach
Coach Dom is a certified coach with the American Special Hockey Association. He first became aware of special hockey when his son Luke was born with Down syndrome, 17 years ago. Dom is an avid hockey player and plays on two adult teams in Danbury. Each winter he builds a backyard ice rink where Luke began to skate at the age of 5. Dom lives in Danbury and is a partner in a graphic design firm, Alessandro/Weber Design. Besides designing the Bravehearts logo he has also created the team logos for most of the Danbury minor league hockey teams including the Trashers and the current Hat Tricks.