Adam Nightingale
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamMichigan State
ConferenceBig Ten
Biographical details
Born (1979-12-19) December 19, 1979 (age 44)
Cheboygan, Michigan
Alma materMichigan State University
Playing career
2000–2002Lake Superior State
2003–2005Michigan State
2004–2006Greenville Grrrowl
2006–2008Charlotte Checkers
Position(s)Right wing
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2022–presentMichigan State
Head coaching record
Overall43–28–5 (.599)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

Adam Nightingale (born December 19, 1979) is an American former ice hockey player and the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team.

Playing career

Nightingale began his collegiate career at Lake Superior State where he recorded six goals and nine assists in 51 games in two seasons. He sat out the 2002–03 season after transferring to Michigan State. He was a two-year assistant captain for the Spartans and recorded 12 goals and 10 assists in 67 games. Following his collegiate career, on March 23, 2005, he signed a contract with the Greenville Grrrowl of the ECHL.[1] He went on to play two seasons for the Grrrowl and two seasons for the Charlotte Checkers where he recorded 10 goals, 17 assists and 171 penalty minutes in 78 games from 2004 to 2008.[2]

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Nightingale was named head coach of the Shattuck-Saint Mary's midget AA team in 2008, a position he held for two seasons.[3]

On July 15, 2010, he was named the Director of Hockey Operations for Michigan State.[4] He served as the Director of Hockey Operations for the Spartans for four years before being named the head coach at Shattuck-Saint Mary's under-14 AAA team from 2014 to 2016. He won a national title with the team in 2016.[5][6]

On July 15, 2016, he was named a video coach for the Buffalo Sabres during the 2016–17 season.[7] On May 3, 2017, he was named video coach for the Detroit Red Wings during the 2017–18 season.[8][9] In August 2019, he was promoted to assistant coach for the 2019–20 season.[10][11]

On August 27, 2020, he was named the head coach for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program under-17 team.[12][13]

On May 3, 2022, he was named the head coach for Michigan State.[14][15] During the 2022–23 season, in his first season with the Spartans, he led the team to an 18–18–2 record and the semifinals of the 2023 Big Ten tournament. On March 4, 2023, in the second game of the quarterfinals, Michigan State won their first Big Ten tournament game. This was their first win in 15 all-time games in the tournament for the Spartans.[16] Michigan State won the series, and advanced to the semifinals for the first time in program history.[17]

During the 2023–24 season, he led the Spartans to a 25–10–3 record, and the program's first Big Ten Conference regular season championship and Big Ten Tournament championship in program history.[18][19] On March 7, 2024, he signed a five-year contract extension with Michigan State.[20]

International

Nightingale served as the video coordinator for the United States at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the 2017, 2018 and 2019 IIHF World Championship.[21]

On May 10, 2021, he was named an assistant coach for the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 2021 IIHF World Championship and won a bronze medal.[22]

On April 6, 2022, he was named the head coach for the United States men's national under-18 ice hockey team at the 2022 IIHF World U18 Championships and won a silver medal.[21][3]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten) (2022–present)
2022–23 Michigan State 18–18–2 10–12–2 T–5th Big Ten Semifinals
2023–24 Michigan State 25–10–3 16–6–2 1st NCAA regional final
Michigan State: 43–28–5 26–18–4
Total: 43–28–5

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal life

Nightingale's younger brother, Jared, is a former professional ice hockey player. They both played college ice hockey together at Michigan State. His older brother, Jason, is assistant director of Amateur Scouting for the Buffalo Sabres.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Adam Nightingale Signs Contract With ECHL's Greenville Grrrowl". msuspartans.com. March 23, 2005. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Adam Nightingale Named Spartan Hockey Coach". msuspartans.com. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Adam Nightingale Named Head Coach at Michigan State University". usahockeyntdp.com. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "Adam Nightingale Added to MSU Hockey Staff". msuspartans.com. July 15, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "Shattuck-St. Mary's Wins Four USA Hockey National Titles". stateofhockey.com. April 6, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Sklar, Sam (May 3, 2022). "MSU hires Adam Nightingale as its next hockey head coach". The State News. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Sabres Add Ward, Nightingale to Coaching Staff". NHL.com. July 15, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (May 3, 2017). "Red Wings hire Adam Nightingale as assistant coach/video". NHL.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  9. ^ St. James, Helene (May 3, 2017). "Detroit Red Wings add Adam Nightingale as assistant coach". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Greenleaf, Jared (August 25, 2019). "Nightingale now an assistant coach with Red Wings". Cheboygan Daily Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  11. ^ Correia, Lance-Micahel (September 14, 2019). "From Cheboygan to the NHL: Nightingale gets promotion to the bench with Red Wings". Traverse City Record-Eagle. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Dan Muse and Adam Nightingale Named NTDP Head Coaches". teamusa.usahockey.com. August 27, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Kulfan, Ted (August 27, 2019). "Red Wings assistant Adam Nightingale named coach at U.S. national team development program". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  14. ^ Bott, Nathaniel (May 3, 2022). "Adam Nightingale hired as the next Michigan State hockey coach". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Charboneau, Matt (May 9, 2022). "Adam Nightingale looks to restore 'great tradition' of MSU hockey". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Bott, Nathaniel (March 4, 2023). "Michigan State hockey keeps its season alive with first Big Ten tourney win". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  17. ^ Bott, Nathaniel (March 5, 2023). "MSU hockey tops Notre Dame in Game 3 for first Big Ten tournament series win". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "Michigan State Captures Big Ten Hockey Championship". BigTen.org. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  19. ^ "Michigan State Wins the Big Ten Hockey Tournament". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  20. ^ Kenney, Madeline (March 7, 2024). "Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale earns new 5-year deal". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Adam Nightingale Named Head Coach for 2022 U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team". teamusa.usahockey.com. April 6, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  22. ^ Doyle, Matthew (May 10, 2021). "Cheboygan's Nightingale Named Asst. Coach for Team USA". misportsnow.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

External links

Awards and achievements Preceded byBob Motzko Big Ten Coach of the Year 2023–24 Succeeded byIncumbent
Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey
Current men's ice hockey head coaches of the Big Ten Conference
Categories