Hershey Bears Head Coach is Heading to the NHL

Todd Nelson will leave a Hershey Bears team that under his tutelage won back-to-back Calder Cup Trophies in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 American Hockey League seasons.

Prior to his time in Hershey, Todd Nelson was the head coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins where he led the Griffins to the 2016-2017 Calder Cup Championship.

The Hershey Bears 2024-25 season that just wrapped up resulted in an Atlantic Division title after going 44-20-7 on the season, but the Hershey Bears hopes for a three-peat were dashed in the Division Finals in a 3-game sweep by the Charlotte Checkers.

Those Charlotte Checkers are currently in the Calder Cup versus the Abbotsford Canucks.

Todd Nelson will be joining the Pittsburgh Penguins as an assistant coach under the Penguins new Head Coach Dan Muse. The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off of a dismal season in which the Penguins finished 34-36-12 failing once again to make the playoffs.

During his playing career, Todd Nelson would play 1 game for the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 1991-92, and would play 2 for the Washington Capitals in 1993-94 which included his first career and only goal of his NHL career.

Todd Nelson leaves a Hershey Bears team with big shoes to fill. Jared Nightingale the head coach of the Washington Capitals ECHL affiliate South Carolina Stingrays could be a potential hire for the Hershey Bears.

Jared Nightingale led the South Carolina Stingrays to a 52-15-3 record winning the Brabham Cup as the best team in the regular season. The South Carolina Stingrays dominating season would end in the division semifinals to the Orlando Solar Bears in a seven-game upset.

Time will tell who the Hershey Bears will hire to replace Todd Nelson, but whoever it is will be taking over a talented team full of Washington Capitals prospects.