Todd Nelson (born May 15, 1969) is a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

coach and former professional player. He is currently serving as the head coach of the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL).

Playing career

Originally drafted by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Nelson played primarily in the minors and played just one game for the Penguins. Signed as a free agent by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

, he helped guide the Capitals' minor league affiliate Portland Pirates to the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

in 1994. He was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame in 2007. Nelson played in just two games for the

, and played in the minors until his retirement in 2002.

Coaching career

Following his professional hockey career, Nelson moved into coaching. He was first the

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

/player coach for the Muskegon Fury of the UHL for the 2001–02 season. He was then an

for the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

of the AHL for the 2002–03 season before returning as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the Muskegon Fury from 2003 to 2006. The Fury won the Colonial Cup his first two years as their coach. He moved on to be the

for the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

of the AHL from 2006 to 2008, who won the

in his final season as an assistant. On July 25, 2008, he accepted an assistant coaching position with the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL. On July 15, 2010, he was introduced as the first head coach of the AHL's

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. History On February 9 ...

, affiliate of the NHL's

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. After the firing of

Dallas Eakins Dallas Franklin Eakins (''né'' Yoder; February 27, 1967) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as the head coach of the ...

on December 15, 2014, Nelson was promoted to head coach of the Oilers on an interim basis for the remainder of the

2014–15 NHL season The 2014–15 NHL season was the 98th season of operation (97th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Los Angeles Kings became the first team to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season since the C ...

. He was replaced as head coach by Todd McLellan on May 19, 2015. On June 16, 2015, Nelson was named the head coach of the

of the

(AHL). Nelson became the third person ever to win the Calder Cup as a player (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

), assistant coach (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

), and head coach (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

), joining Bob Woods and Mike Stothers. On May 31, 2018, Nelson left the Griffins to become an assistant coach with the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

in the NHL until his resignation on May 20, 2022. On August 11, 2022, Nelson was named the head coach of the Hershey Bears. He is the 28th head coach in team history.

Personal life

Nelson is the older brother of Jeff Nelson and Kerri Nelson-Brunen, and is the father of Colton Nelson, former

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

hockey player at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Awards

*WHL East Second All-Star Team (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

)

Career statistics

Coaching record

NHL

Minor leagues

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Todd 1969 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers coaches Berlin Capitals players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Lumberjacks players Dallas Stars coaches Edmonton Oilers coaches Grand Rapids Griffins coaches Grand Rapids Griffins players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Prince Albert Raiders players Portland Pirates players Sportspeople from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany