Penguins name Todd Nelson, Rich Clune, Nick Bonino assistant coaches
New Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Muse’s staff is coming together. Todd Nelson, Rich Clune and Nick Bonino have been named assistant coaches, the team announced on Friday.
admin
New Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Muse’s staff is coming together.
Todd Nelson, Rich Clune and Nick Bonino have been named assistant coaches, the team announced on Friday.
Nelson spent the last three seasons coaching the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. Under Nelson’s guidance, the Bears won back-to-back Calder Cup Championships in 2023 and ’24, and their nine consecutive playoff series victories set an AHL record.
The 56-year-old was named Coach of the Year in 2024, and owned a .755 win pecentage during his tenure.
Nelson joins the Penguins as one of the more sought after coaches this cycle. He was considered a candidate for several of the NHL head coaching vacancies, which included the Vancouver Canucks where he was “in the mix”, per CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal.
Bonino, perhaps the most intriguing name added to Muse’s staff, begins his coaching career in the place where he won two Stanley Cups. The 37-year-old played a key role in the Penguins’ Cup runs in 2016 and ’17.
During those two playoffs, Bonino registered eight goals and 17 assists while centring the HBK line alongside Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin.
Clune, 38, is yet another player-turned-coach to join Pittsburgh’s bench. The former forward played 138 NHL games, and spent 15 seasons as a pro across the NHL, AHL and ECHL.
He began his coaching career in 2022 with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a player development coach before becoming an assistant with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in ’23 and the Anaheim Ducks last season.
The Penguins also named Troy Paquette the assistant video coach and Andy Chiodo will remain as the goaltending coach.
