Todd Nelson officially named head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins
By @MichaelCaples –
Another week, another hire for a coaching vacancy in the Detroit Red Wings’ organization.
The Grand Rapids Griffins officially announced today that Todd Nelson will be their new head coach.
Nelson, who played for the Griffins and two different professional teams in Muskegon, fills the void left by Jeff Blashill, who was named the head coach of the Red Wings last week after three seasons in Grand Rapids.
Nelson was the first player ever signed by the Griffins franchise, committing to the team on July 24, 1996, prior to their inaugural season.
“It’s really good to be back home,” Nelson said to start his press conference. “I just wanted to say thank you very much to the Detroit Red Wings – Ken Holland and Ryan Martin – and also the Grand Rapids Griffins – I see Dan DeVos over there – it’s just a wonderful opportunity for me to come back here. It’s a challenge that I want to accept.”
#WelcomeBackNelly Story >> http://t.co/HsehS9N2HA pic.twitter.com/W589GmpGCy
— GrandRapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) June 19, 2015
Martin, the Red Wings’ assistant GM, introduced Nelson by talking about how big of a role an AHL coach plays in an NHL organization.
“Today is a very important day for the Detroit Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins organizations,” Martin said. “The AHL coach is one of the most important people in an NHL team’s organizational chart. The position is instrumental in helping to develop players to the NHL, and as I walked in, I noticed some of these faces on the wall here, and a big part of the success that we’ve had in the Detroit Red Wings is a direct result of the development of a number of players who have come through here, like Luke Glendening, Tomas Jurco, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan, Gustav Nyquist, Petr Mrazek – all of these players won a Calder Cup down here and they’re a huge part of the reason why we’ve been able to make the playoffs for 24 straight years and been able to maintain a level of success in the NHL.”
The 46-year-old Nelson, a native of Prince Albert, Saskatoon, most recently served as the interim head coach for the Edmonton Oilers during the 2014-15 season after the team fired Dallas Eakins in December. Nelson served as head coach for the Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, from 2010-14, leading them to a pair of conference finals appearances.
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Martin said that Nelson was the Wings’ first choice, but they almost weren’t able to speak with him about the open job.
“When Ken and I began the process for finding Jeff Blashill’s successor, one of our first calls was to Edmonton to get permission to speak with Todd,” Martin said. “Edmonton initially told us that they were trying to keep Todd in their organization, and they didn’t grant us permission. Ken and I understood that, we felt Todd was a great coach and he’d be an asset to any organization. A couple weeks later, we reached out to Edmonton again, and at that time, Edmonton and Todd had decided to let Todd explore some other opportunities. At that time, Ken and I knew Todd was our first choice to be the next head coach for the Griffins.”
Martin went on to say that Blashill once told him Nelson was the hardest coach he competed against during the team’s Calder Cup-winning season in 2013.
“I know that Jeff Blashill did an outstanding job here, and Jeff gave me a nice complement, but the feelings are mutual,” Nelson said. “Coaching against Jeff was always a fun game to coach, just because you’re always making adjustments. I think Jeff’s going to do outstanding job up in Detroit, and I’m really looking forward to working with him. That being said, Jeff has really set the bar high, and I look to carry on with the success that they’ve had here. I’ve been on the winning side here, not to the end but I’ve been in this building and lost, and that’s the year Jeff carried the team to the Calder Cup.”
As a player, Nelson spent five years with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders before joining the IHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for his first two years of professional hockey. After trips to Cleveland, Portland and Hershey, Nelson came to Grand Rapids in 1996. He would end up playing for the IHL’s Griffins for two straight years, before a trip to Europe, a return trip to Grand Rapids and a year with the Allen Americans before his final season in 2001-02, in which he split time between the Griffins and the Muskegon Fury of the UHL.
His coaching career began at the same time; Nelson worked as a player/assistant coach with the Fury during his final year as a player. He spent one season as an assistant coach with the Griffins (now in the AHL) in 2002-03, before becoming the head coach of the Fury from 2003-06.
During his time as assistant coach with the Griffins, Nelson worked under Pontiac native and U.S. NTDP coach Danton Cole, as the two guided the Griffins to a third-round playoff appearance.
“The tradition here has always been a strong one,” Nelson said. “It’s unbelievable that 19, 20 years ago I was sitting here doing a press conference for being the best – I wish I was the best – no, the first Griffin ever signed, and from that time, Grand Rapids has always been a very strong organization and a wonderful place.”
Nelson joined the AHL’s Chicago Wolves as an assistant coach from 2006-08, before spending two years in the same role with the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers.
He took over as bench boss of the Oklahoma City Barons in 2010.