Mexican-American coach Treviño educating hockey prospects

Think of all the words typed and spoken by hockey people around the world. Scouting reports, line charts, game notes, travel itineraries -- all expressed in countless languages. Amid the scroll, it's easy to skip over the story of one name.

And one letter.

Marco Treviño is providing us with reason to pause.

Treviño, 40, is the new coach of the United States Hockey League's Tri-City Storm. When you visit Treviño's X account, you may notice an important detail in his name presentation: the tilde over the letter n.

The eñe is a distinct letter in the Spanish alphabet, with its own pronunciation. On Spanish-language phones and computers, there are separate keys for ñ and n. Treviño is said differently than Trevino.

Treviño wants to share that part of his family story -- to represent, educate, and inspire.

"That's why it's there," Treviño says. "I want people to understand. You come from a Latin background -- in my case, being full Mexican -- it's not something you see in the game. I want people to see it, so they say, 'This guy did it. This guy played for a long time, and now he's coaching for a long time.'"

For Treviño, the tilde is a small yet powerful culmination of a dream he's held since his youth hockey career.

Marco grew up in the Detroit area, where his parents, Bernardino and Gloria, still live today. Bernardino was born in Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico, and immigrated to the U.S. at 17 years old; Gloria was born in Michigan after her parents moved from Linares to Detroit.

A former defenseman, Marco picked up hockey for the same reasons many kids try the sport: he grew up near rinks, and his older brother, Juan, played first. At a time when relatively few Mexican-Americans played high-level hockey, Treviño reached the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks and Sioux City Musketeers.

"When I played, I always said, 'I want to play at a high enough level where I'm able to get that tilde -- that ñ -- on my jersey,'" he recalls. "Never as a player did I have it on my back name bar. I guess that's on me. I didn't play at a high enough level. Maybe if I played a high pro level, they could have done that."

The detail became even more prominent on Dec. 3, 2024, when Treviño was elevated from assistant coach to head coach. Treviño believes the promotion is rooted in crucial lessons he learned while coaching AAA hockey with Victory Honda, based in suburban Detroit.

Victory Honda isn't known for placing players in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program every year, but the club has produced NHL alumni like Alex DeBrincat, Ian Cole, and Matt Roy.

"I was able to build a bit of a reputation there -- this is where that second-tier player should go, who's not the most heavily recruited, to get better and stronger and work their way up to the [North American Hockey League]," Treviño said. "A lot of those guys, I still keep in touch with. Probably some of the best experiences I've had [are] being on teams [where] guys are hungry. They've been told 'no' a lot and want to grind it out."

Treviño's development philosophy is also informed by his most important role: father to three children, including 18-year-old Tristen.

Tristen was born in 2006, shortly after Marco turned 22, and is now a defenseman with the Bismarck Bobcats of the NAHL.

"I think that's helped me as a coach, knowing what people are telling these kids," Marco said. "My son's been up and down, the [NAHL] and USHL. Knowing what pressure is on these kids: Division I scholarships, which colleges are talking to him, is he in the lineup tonight. …

"Having those conversations with my son on a personal level, and knowing exactly what he's feeling, is what allows me to have empathy in those same conversations with my guys."

In seeking pathways for his own career, Treviño looks to the example of Tampa Bay Lightning coach and Canada coach for the 4 Nations Face-Off, Jon Cooper, the former college lacrosse player and high school hockey coach who is the longest-tenured current NHL head coach.

"He was a youth coach, just like me," Treviño says. "I don't know Jon at all, but his path is inspirational and something to look at. … Whether he has the best roster, whether he has injuries, he's able to be successful, year in and year out.

"You look at [other coaches who] wear out their welcome pretty fast with players. There's plenty of reasons why, but 'Coop' seems to continue to have the same great rapport with players, with his staff, with management and ownership. It's amazing, really. Communication is the most important piece."

Treviño's approach was rewarded when the Storm named him as their 10th head coach.

"When I started coaching, this is the level I always wanted to be at," he said. "This was the goal, to be a USHL head coach. I feel like I can give the most to players -- and players need the most support -- at this age, with things going on in their lives. Moving away from home, not being with their families for the first time, but they're all Division I committed, so there's a hurry to get to college.

"I know when I played, it was a very tough time for me. This is where I feel like I can offer the most support to players."

Marco has made countless trips to Mexico to visit relatives there; Bernardino has seven brothers and seven sisters) Family remains at the center of Treviño's life despite the challenges of working in hockey. The Tri-City Storm is based in Kearney, Nebraska, but Marco's wife, Keila, and their children remain based in the Pittsburgh area; Marco had coached there for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program before joining the Tri-City coaching staff.

Peter Mannino, the current Colorado College associate coach, recommended that Tri-City general manager Jason Koehler hire Treviño as a Pittsburgh-based scout. Treviño enjoyed the work but felt most at home behind the bench. When then-Storm assistant David Nies departed the organization for a job with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, Koehler offered Treviño the opportunity to replace Nies.

"I knew the opportunity doesn't come around very often, so I had to jump and take it," Treviño recalled. "It's been great, but it's tough. I live away from home … I have a 6-year-old with autism, so the programs he's in -- counseling and schooling -- everything's already set up there, so we weren't able to really move. It's not an option to move him."

Like many of the players he's coaching, Treviño had to move away from home to pursue his hockey dream. That's yet another common experience as he seeks to build connections with his players.

"Being empathetic, putting myself in other people's shoes, and saying, 'This is what's going through an 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kid's head,'" Treviño says. "Thinking about it in a supporting role, instead of a dictating role, and guide them through the process.

"Making the experience positive, teaching them life lessons they can carry on to Division I, to pro -- that's where I'd like to think I have success, trying to get through it with them."

Marco Treviño is making a name for himself, one that more people in the hockey world will learn with each game. And with Tristen committed to play college hockey at Robert Morris, there will be more opportunities to write about the Treviño family -- including the ñ that conveys meaning beyond the stitching on a hockey sweater.

"I'm going to talk with Derek Schooley over there," Marco says of the RMU head coach, "to see if he can put it on the back."