After their 4-3 win over the Providence Bruins on Saturday, the Hershey Bears have secured their greatest start through 30 games in the 86-year history of the franchise with a 24-6 record. At the holiday break, they lead the entire AHL by nine standings points.
With their 23rd win of the season on Friday, the team also clinched something else for head coach Todd Nelson. That victory guaranteed that Nelson will be heading to San Jose as the bench boss for the Atlantic Division at the AHL All-Star Classic in February. The all-star coaching nod will be Nelson’s fourth in his career, a new league record.
“It’s nice,” Nelson said postgame on Saturday. “It’s a situation where I’m representing the team on behalf of the players and the staff. It’s not a one-man show by any means. Everybody has contributed for me to be in the spot to go coach that game.
“It’s an honor to represent the Hershey Bears and we’ll be having some players join us. They’re going through the selection right now. It was great last year with [Ethen Frank] and [Beck Malenstyn] to just be a part of it. I’ve been very fortunate to be in this position four times, great players. It’s truly an honor and it’s indicative of all the good people and hardworking people that work around me to make me look good.”
Nelson also guided the Atlantic Division last season during his first campaign as Bears head coach. His other two appearances at AHL all-star festivities came in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Barons and 2017 with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Although Nelson is grateful for another opportunity to get involved with the All-Star Classic, he was more concerned Saturday with how his team is playing this year. While they may have had a historic start, Nelson is sure that there’s even more room to improve.
“We’re definitely happy with what we’ve accomplished so far,” Nelson said. “I see the team still growing. There’s still a lot of room for growth. We can’t get complacent. I think the guys are pushing each other right now which is great. At the start of the year, I was concerned with the Calder Cup hangover. We did not have it and like I’ve said before, the guys that won last year have that hunger and thirst to go back to that situation and the new guys know how special it can be. Teams like this don’t come around very often so if you have a good hockey club and the guys get along great and they mesh well, you gotta take advantage of it.”
Overall, Nelson has posted a 68-25-9 record with the Bears through 102 games as the club’s head coach. He also brought home the 12th Calder Cup in franchise history last season and has now won seven championships during his illustrious career: one as a player, one as a player/assistant coach, one as an assistant coach, and four as a head coach.
Nelson is one of just three people ever to win the Calder Cup as a player, as an assistant coach, and as a head coach.
Congrats, Todd!
Headline Photo: Tori Hartman / Hershey Bears
