When it comes to a winning hockey team, attitude is everything for Todd Nelson.
“Good communication with the players and showing them that I care really goes a long way,” said Nelson. “We try to get to know the players on a personal level.”
Nelson’s approach worked to perfection in 2016/17. On June 13, he coached the Grand Rapids Griffins to the AHL championship, beating the Syracuse Crunch to win the Calder Cup in a six-game series.
“This year’s team was so close. They were so unified in that dressing room. They did things together away from the rink,” said Nelson. “A very tight knit group.
“I believe if we weren’t that tight, we wouldn’t have got very far.”
Nelson believes a team can be successful only if players care more about their teammates than they do themselves. That’s what he tried to bring to the Edmonton Oilers in 2014/15.
After the Oilers started the year 7-19-5, Dallas Eakins was fired. Nelson was brought up from the Oilers farm team in Oklahoma City to be the interim coach for the rest of the campaign.
“When I first got there, there were three or four other guys eating lunch together on one side of the room. It was kind of cliquish,” recalled Nelson. “With about a month left in the season, you saw 14, 15 guys eating lunch together.
“It was a tough time, but also I was trying to have fun with it. You have to come to the rink with a positive attitude. It’s not easy sometimes, but you have to come and try to be positive. It rubs off on people.”
Now, there’s speculation Nelson will be in the NHL next season.
He’s in the running to coach the Arizona Coyotes. If that doesn’t work out, he has a year left on his contract with the Griffins.