Hershey Head Coach Todd Nelson Hired by Pittsburgh Penguins

June 20, 2025

The National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins have announced the hire of Todd Nelson as an assistant coach, after Nelson spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Hershey Bears. In Hershey, he led the club to back-to-back Calder Cup championships in his first two seasons, and won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award in 2023-24 as the American Hockey League's outstanding coach.

"The Hershey Bears thank Todd Nelson for his extraordinary three seasons with the club," said vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer. "We enjoyed a resurgence under his guidance that included returning the Calder Cup to Chocolatetown and elevating the standard of what it means to be a Bear. He is an excellent coach who possesses a demonstrated history of winning and development, and he significantly enhanced our organization in every aspect during his time in Hershey. We are excited to see Nelly make his return to the NHL, and wish him and his family nothing but the best in Pittsburgh.

Nelson, 56, was named the 28th coach of the Bears on August 11, 2022, becoming the 10th former Hershey player to be employed as the club's head coach. During his tenure at the helm of the Bears, Nelson led the team to a record of 141-53-12-10 in 216 regular-season games, for a points percentage of .704, the best mark of any coach in franchise history. He was selected to represent the Bears as the Atlantic Division head coach at the AHL All-Star Classic in Laval, Quebec in 2023 and San Jose, California in 2024.

In the 2022-23 season - aided by a franchise-record 8-0-0-1 point streak on home ice to start the season - Nelson's squad went 44-19-5-4 (.674) to finish with the club's highest points percentage since Hershey's 2009-10 team. The Bears advanced through the Calder Cup Playoffs before facing the expansion Coachella Valley Firebirds in the final round. After falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, Hershey reeled off three straight wins at home before eventually facing Coachella Valley in a winner-take-all Game 7 on the road. Despite trailing 2-0, the Bears tied the game and ultimately won 3-2 in overtime to give Hershey its 12th Calder Cup championship.

In the 2023-24 season, Nelson guided Hershey to a 53-14-0-5 record to capture the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the league's best team in the regular season while setting a league record for most wins in a 72-game campaign and establishing a new franchise single-season record for best points percentage (.771).

For his work, Nelson was named the recipient of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for the first time in his coaching career, and became the first Hershey head coach since Spencer Carbery in 2021 to be named the AHL's outstanding coach. He was just the sixth coach in franchise history to earn this honor, joining Carbery (2020-21), John Paddock (1987-88), Doug Gibson (1979-80), Chuck Hamilton (1975-76), and Frank Mathers (1968-69).

The Bears earned a first-round bye as a result of their performance in the regular season, and Nelson again led Hershey through the playoff bracket to a finals matchup with Coachella Valley. The Chocolate and White dispatched the Firebirds in six games this time, as Hershey finished with a 14-6 playoff record to achieve its third set of back-to-back championships (1958-59, 2009-10, 2023-24) and its 13th overall title.

During the 2024-25 campaign, Nelson earned his 433rd AHL head coaching win on Jan. 31 versus Bridgeport to pass Kevin Dineen for fifth among head coaches in AHL history, and coached his 777th game on April 19 versus Lehigh Valley to pass Ken Gernander for ninth in league history in games coached. Hershey posted a 44-20-7-1 (.667) record to finish first in the Atlantic Division and earn a first-round bye for the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Bears defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2 in the best-of-five Atlantic Division Finals to win their ninth consecutive playoff series (2023, 4; 2024, 4, 2025, 1), establishing a new AHL record. Nelson also earned his 31st playoff victory with the Bears, placing him second in franchise history.

"It was an absolute pleasure to be the head coach of the Hershey Bears and leaving my post with this organization was an extremely difficult decision," said Nelson. "What we accomplished over the past three years was truly special, and being part of this historic franchise was the honor of a lifetime. I want to thank the Washington Capitals, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, and everyone involved with the Bears organization - from the players, to the staff, to the outstanding fans - for making my time in Hershey so memorable. I'm excited to join the Penguins and take the next step in my career, but Hershey will always hold a special place in my heart."

Nelson's tenure in the AHL includes time as a head coach with Oklahoma City, Grand Rapids, and Hershey, compiling a 450-242-85 record and winning the 2017 Calder Cup with Grand Rapids, as well as stints as an assistant coach with Grand Rapids and Chicago, winning the 2008 Calder Cup with Chicago, and winning the 1994 Calder Cup as a player with Portland.

A five-time Calder Cup Champion, Nelson makes his return to the NHL, where as a player he was a fourth-round selection of Penguins in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, and appeared in three regular-season and four playoff games with Pittsburgh and Washington between 1991-94. As a coach in the NHL, Nelson previously led the Edmonton Oilers to a 17-22-7 record as interim head coach in 46 games during the 2014-15 campaign. He has also served as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Thrashers from 2008-10 and the Dallas Stars from 2018-22, where he helped the club to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final. 

Nelson is the fifth Bears head coach in the last 20 seasons to earn a promotion to the NHL, following in the NHL footsteps of Bruce Boudreau (2005-07), Bob Woods (2007-09), Spencer Carbery (2018-21), and Scott Allen (2021-22), who earned coaching positions with Washington (head), Minnesota Wild (assistant), Toronto Maple Leafs (assistant), and Washington (assistant) respectively. He is one of 14 former Bears players or coaches to currently hold a bench coach position in the NHL.

The Bears and Washington Capitals will begin the search for Hershey's new head coach immediately.