Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Adam Nightingale has been named the head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team, according to USA Hockey.
Nightingale has been on Jeff Blashill’s staff for three seasons. His responsibilities this past season included player development, scouting and running the penalty kill. He was a video coach during his first two seasons with the Wings after serving in the same capacity with the Buffalo Sabres.
He’ll start in his new job immediately.
“I’ve been fortunate to have been coached and mentored by some great people and look forward to getting a chance to do the same with our nation’s top players,” he said in a statement about joining USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.
Nightingale, a Cheboygan native, has extensive ties to the state’s college hockey scene. He was director of hockey operations 2010-14 for his alma mater, Michigan State. He played two seasons with the Spartans (2003-05) after spending his first two years at Lake Superior State.
He’s also been a video coach for four U.S. national teams, beginning with the U.S. National Junior Team in 2015. He served in that role with the U.S. Men’s National Team at the past three International Ice Hockey Federation men’s world championships.
One of Nightingale’s assistants with the under-17 will be Canton native Brent Darnell, another MSU alum.
Nashville Predators assistant coach Dan Muse has been named head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team in 2020-21. Mike Leone (Dearborn), who played for Western Michigan from 2010-13, will be one of his assistants.
“We are very excited to bring in two coaches of this caliber,” said Scott Monaghan, senior director of operations for the development program. “Both Dan and Adam have great experience and success as head coaches working with the developmental age levels and have progressed to working at the highest level on NHL benches. We are fortunate to have these two leading the development of our young men at the NTDP.”
Muse and Nightingale are replacing Seth Appert and John Wroblewski, who both recently accepted head coaching positions in the American Hockey League. The NTDP is based at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.
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