Patrick Williamstheahl.com writer
Leaving Hershey Bears head coach Todd Nelson In the AHL’s highest franchise, he has made full efforts in his three seasons. Apart from pig grilling, the team ending and memorable funny stories won a lot of wins.
Nelson led the Bears to a back-to-back Calder Cup title, leaving Hershey on June 20 as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After part of his 11 seasons as head coach of the AHL, his 450 regular season win over him has historically ranked fifth, and Nelson will return to the NHL.
Nelson, 56, has won the Calder Cup three times before coming to Hershey in 2022, and was a former player, assistant and head coach, leaving the Bears with impressive achievements. In 216 regular season games, he scored 141-53-12-10 with a record of 141-53-12-10, and his .704 point percentage is the best Hershey has ever had in any head coach in the AHL in 88 seasons.
The Bears won the 2023 Calder Cup in Nelson’s first season, a wild, round-trip seven games against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, which was seven games overtime. As a follow-up event, he scored them a record of 53-14-0-5 in 2023-24 and won the Louis Al Pierre Memorial Award to become the most outstanding coach in the AHL. This time in six games, the Bears once again beat the Coachella Valley in the Calder Cup final. Despite the underbidden bid, the first team to win three Calder Cup three consecutive games since 1962, the Bears still won the Atlantic Division regular season title last season. He has represented the team twice in the AHL All-Star Classic.
With success, Hershey is so popular and safe. He also said he has served as head coach many times in the past. On the other hand, his work at Hershey attracted the NHL interest. Then there was the Pittsburgh call.
“I’m really upset about what to do,” Nelson admitted. “When Pittsburgh called, I just wanted to talk to them. I was very interested in what they said. I knew some of the management people there, but I didn’t know (President and General Manager of Hockey Operations) Kyle Dubas fundamental. I don’t know (new head coach) Dan Musebut every conversation I started to become more interested. I like Kyle’s direction for the Penguin and I’m just starting to weigh the issue, and I think it’s time for a new chapter. I’ve talked to a lot of people. It was a tough decision, but it was a great opportunity for me.
“I’m looking forward to it. Obviously I will miss the Heaven. I will always cherish the Heaven.”
Nelson believes his time in Hershey has brought him back to the NHL job. He won the Calder Cup with Grand Rapids Griffins in 2017, before winning four seasons as an assistant coach in 2018. But by the end of Dallas’ term, the team had already experienced changes in the principal and even missed the 2020-21 Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I’m kind of like the coaching staff that has a lot of moves, so my role isn’t that big. My stock is down,” Nelson said.
“Going into Hershey and getting successful has brought me back to the map. It’s a very important part of my career. Grand Rapids, that’s great, everything is great, but some people might say that’s fl luck or others. But when you win three head coaches… it’s the reason one person always wins the same people.”
Hershey itself may be a small town, but the Bears have a wide following, including fans of Washington, D.C., which attracts parents’ capital home. Nelson’s gratitude was fully aware of the team’s importance to the region, and his three seasons would only intensify that belief.
“People drive a long way to watch the Hessie Bears race,” Nelson said. “When we won the Cup, we did two playoff runs, you just look at social media posts, and people from Australia, the UK, all over the world are following the Hessie Bears…people want you to win.”
To manage, meet and exceed these expectations, Nelson relies on his easy-going, low-key, humorous personality to manage his players. In a few cases, he does need a more confrontational feeling, and he builds enough credibility with the players that they will take those harsh words seriously. Nelson admits that early in his coaching career he struggled to balance these contrasting approaches. Nelson honed his coaching style over the years, highlighting a team-first, family-like environment. He often gets rid of the over-analysis of every win or loss in the regular season, chooses to emphasize long-term perspectives, prioritizes his team to get together, build strong habits, and prepare for postseason success.
“No one likes yelling and screaming every time,” Nelson said. “Players just stop it. I try to stay steady. The biggest thing I always remember is how we team up together. It will be the biggest gain I will have…Players love each other and want to work hard on each other.
“That’s where the emotions are so excited because you see they care.”
With Nelson leaving with several players, the Bears’ 2025-26 version will have to find their way. But the past three years have provided many memories for Bears fans.
“I want to thank Washington and Hershey,” Nelson said. “It’s been a great three years. It’s true. We’ve had a lot of success, and it’s fun. I also want to thank the fans, the management and all the staff. Hopefully the good times continue their success.”
During the fifty years in the American Hockey League, Theahl.com writer Patrick Williams currently covers NHL.com and Flosports leagues and is a regular contributor to Siriusxm NHL New Network Radio. He won the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding league coverage in 2016.
