Bickel previously served as head coach and assistant manager for the Minnesota Magicians in the North American Hockey League. A native of Minnesota, Bickel also worked as an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota from 2018-2020. As a player, Bickel was known throughout his career as a hard-nosed defenseman and winger. Bickel skated in 76 NHL games from 2011-2015 for the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild. He completed over 10 AHL seasons with several different teams scoring 12 goals, 42 assists, and racked up 919 penalty minutes in 310 games.

Brennan joins the Coachella Valley from the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Saskatoon Blades, where he served as head coach, leading his team to a 105-point (50-13-5) record in 2023-24. Under Sonne’s tutelage, the Blades earned the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy, awarded to the WHL team with the best regular-season record. The 2023-24 season was the first time in franchise history that Saskatoon surpassed the 100-point mark in back-to-back campaigns after the team recorded 101 points (48-15-5) the season prior. Sonne was named the 2023-24 East Division finalist for the WHL Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year after winning the award in 2022-23.