Michigan State's head coach Adam Nightingale calls out to players during the first period against Notre Dame in the Big Ten tournament on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at Muni Arena in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MSU's Adam Nightingale Given Major Honor

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Apr 22, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale's offseason just got more exciting.

USA Hockey announced on Tuesday that Nightingale will be an assistant for Team USA in next month's IIHF World Championship. This will mark the Spartans coach's fifth time on a U.S. Men's National Team coaching staff.

Nightingale had served as the head coach of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program for two seasons before returning to his alma mater as head coach, leading U18 team to a silver medal in 2022.

The longtime coach was also an assistant for the 2021 Team USA IIHF World Championship team that won bronze and was the video coach for the team from 2017 to 2019, a run that had also included a bronze medal.

Nightingale, of course, comes off back-to-back Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in what were his second and third seasons as the Spartans' head coach. His program was the first to ever accomplish the feats in back-to-back seasons.

Nightingale was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the 2024 season, just his second leading the program, and was a finalist the year before.

The 45-year-old head coach has made quite a name for himself in the hockey world, and this latest honor is a testament to that.

Nightingale will coach under Team USA head coach Ryan Warsofsky, head coach of the San Jose Sharks. He will be joined by assistants Mike Vellucci, assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Kevin Dean, assistant coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. Sharks goaltending coach Thomas Speer will coach the team's netminders, while Sharks video coach Nick Gialdini and Nashville Predators video coach Lawrence Feloney will serve as the team's video coaches.

This year's IIHF World Championship will run from May 9 to the 26th. Team USA will face Denmark, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway and Switzerland in Group B of the preliminary round, set to take place in Herning, Denmark. You can watch the entire IIHF World Championship on NHL Network.

Team USA will take the ice for a pre-tournament game against Germany on May 4.

Nightingale was an alternate captain in his two seasons with the Spartans (2003-04 and 2004-05), which followed his two seasons at Lake Superior State. He was teammates with his younger brother, Jared, while at Michigan State.

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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