Todd Nelson (ice hockey)

Todd Nelson (born May 15, 1969) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the older brother of Jeff Nelson and the father of Colton Nelson, Division III hockey player at the University of Wisconsin Superior.

Todd Nelson
Born	May 15, 1969 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Ice hockey coach, player
Coaching career
Position	Assistant coach
Team	Dallas Stars (NHL)
Previous team(s)	Edmonton Oilers
Years as a coach	2003–present
Years as an NHL coach	2014–2015
Years with current team	2018–present
Ice hockey career Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) Position Defence Shot Left Played for Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Berlin Capitals HIFK NHL Draft 79th overall, 1989 Pittsburgh Penguins Playing career 1990–2002

Playing career

Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins 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, he helped guide the Capitals' minor league affiliate Portland Pirates to the Calder Cup in 1994. He was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame in 2007. Nelson played in just two games for the Washington Capitals, 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/player coach for the Muskegon Fury of the UHL for the 2001–02 season. He was then an assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL for the 2002–03 season before returning as head coach of the Muskegon Fury from 2003-2006. The Fury won the Colonial Cup his first two years as their coach. He moved on to be the assistant coach for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL from 2006–2008, who won the Calder Cup 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, affiliate of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.

After the firing of Dallas Eakins 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. He was replaced as head coach by Todd McLellan on May 19, 2015.[1]

On June 16, 2015, Nelson was named the head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL).[2] Nelson became the third person ever to win the Calder Cup as a player (1994), assistant coach (2008), and head coach (2017), joining Bob Woods and Mike Stothers.[3]

On May 31, 2018, Nelson left the Griffins to become an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars in the NHL.[4]

Awards

• WHL East Second All-Star Team (1989, 1990)

Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985–86	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		35	1	6	7	10		4	0	0	0	0
1987–88	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		72	3	21	24	59		10	3	2	5	4
1988–89	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		72	14	45	59	72		4	1	3	4	4
1989–90	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		69	13	42	55	88		14	3	12	15	12
1990–91	Muskegon Lumberjacks	IHL		79	4	20	24	32		3	0	0	0	4
1991–92	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Muskegon Lumberjacks	IHL		80	6	35	41	46		14	1	11	12	4
1992–93	Cleveland Lumberjacks	IHL		76	7	35	42	115		4	0	2	2	4
1993–94	Washington Capitals	NHL		2	1	0	1	2		4	0	0	0	0
1993–94	Portland Pirates	AHL		80	11	34	45	69		11	0	6	6	6
1994–95	Portland Pirates	AHL		75	10	35	45	76		7	0	4	4	6
1995–96	Hershey Bears	AHL		70	10	40	50	38		5	1	2	3	8
1996–97	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		81	3	18	21	32		5	1	0	1	0
1997–98	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		75	6	21	27	36		3	0	0	0	2
1998–99	Berlin Capitals	DEL		44	5	10	15	26		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	HIFK Helsinki	SM-liiga		4	1	1	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL		73	2	15	17	47		17	0	2	2	10
2000–01	Rochester Americans	AHL		74	6	20	26	32		4	0	2	2	2
2001–02	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		7	0	2	2	8		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Muskegon Fury	UHL		66	8	25	33	38		17	2	6	8	2
NHL Totals				3	1	0	1	2		4	0	0	0	0

Coaching record

NHL

Team	Year	Regular season						Postseason
		Games	Won	Lost	OTL	Points	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
EDM	2014–15	51	17	25	9	.422	6th in Pacific	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Total		51	17	25	9	.422		—	—	—

Minor leagues

Team	Year	Regular season						Postseason
		Games	Won	Lost	OTL	Points	Finish	Games	Won	Lost	Result
Muskegon Fury	2003–04	76	47	20	9	103	3rd in Western	11	11	0	Won Colonial Cup
Muskegon Fury	2004–05	80	51	20	9	111	1st in Central	17	12	5	Won Colonial Cup
Muskegon Fury	2005–06	76	51	18	7	109	2nd in Central	12	6	6	Lost in Round 2
Oklahoma City Barons	2010–11	80	40	29	11	91	5th in West	6	2	4	Lost in Division Semifinals
Oklahoma City Barons	2011–12	76	45	22	9	99	1st in West	14	8	6	Lost in Conference Finals
Oklahoma City Barons	2012–13	76	40	25	11	91	3rd in South	17	10	7	Lost in Conference Finals
Oklahoma City Barons	2013–14	76	36	29	11	83	3rd in West	3	0	3	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals
Grand Rapids Griffins	2015–16	76	44	30	2	90	4th in Central	9	5	4	Lost in Division finals
Grand Rapids Griffins	2016–17	76	47	23	1	100	2nd in Central	19	15	4	Won Calder Cup
Grand Rapids Griffins	2017–18	76	42	25	9	93	2nd in Central	5	2	3	Lost in Division semifinals
AHL Totals		536	294	153	54	941	—	73	42	31

References

1. Duhatschek, Eric (May 19, 2015). "Edmonton Oilers name Todd McLellan head coach". Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
2. "Todd Nelson named head coach of Griffins". June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
3. "Ain't It Grand". Grand Rapids Griffins. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
4. "Todd Nelson talks about leaving Griffins for NHL: 'I have to go'". mlive.com. May 31, 2018.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database