Photo: AHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Todd Nelson as an assistant coach on the staff of new head coach Dan Muse.
Nelson is one of the most successful coaches in American Hockey League history. He owns a record of 450-242-85 (a .634 points percentage) over 11 seasons with Oklahoma City (2010-15), Grand Rapids (2015-18) and Hershey (2022-25), ranking fifth all-time in wins behind only AHL Hall of Famers Roy Sommer, Bun Cook, Frank Mathers and John Paddock. He has compiled nine 40-win seasons and captured three division titles, and he won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach in 2023-24 after leading Hershey to the second-best regular-season record in the history of the league.
In the postseason, Nelson is one of only seven coaches in league history with three Calder Cup championships, winning titles with Grand Rapids in 2017 and with Hershey in 2023 and 2024. His 73 Calder Cup Playoff victories are good for third all-time, and he guided the Bears to nine consecutive series wins from 2023 to 2025, an AHL record.
A native of Prince Albert, Sask., Nelson was also an assistant coach on the Chicago Wolves’ Calder Cup-winning team in 2008, and he won a title with the 1993-94 Portland Pirates as part of his 12-year playing career, giving him five total championships in the AHL.
Nelson previously served in the NHL as a head coach with the Edmonton Oilers and as an assistant with Edmonton, Atlanta and Dallas. He was on the Stars’ staff when they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.
