The Hershey Bears are losing an integral part of their coaching staff, as assistant Nick Bootland is departing the club to become the next head coach of the Cleveland Monsters.
Bootland, a former Bears forward, has been with Hershey for the past four seasons, joining as part of Todd Nelson’s staff ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. While with the Bears, he won back-to-back Calder Cups in 2023 and 2024.
Overall, the Bears went 173-84-31 during Bootland’s tenure, and also won an AHL-record nine straight playoff series from 2023 to 2025.
Before joining Hershey’s staff, Bootland served as head coach and director of hockey operations for the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings for 14 years. He joins Cleveland’s staff after previous Monsters head coach, Trent Vogelhuber, was promoted to assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Bootland has prior ties to the Cleveland area, as his lone other AHL experience as a player came with the Cleveland Barons from 2001 to 2005.
The Bears say they will work with the club’s NHL affiliate, the Washington Capitals, to immediately begin a search for Bootland’s successor on head coach Derek King’s staff.
