"There's so many good coaches that they could take, to be able to represent our country on that stage," Nightingale said. "The talent, you look at all the good coaching they have at a young level, and volunteers that kind of get these guys in a position to make this team. It's our staff's job at that point to try to take the best care of what we can, but (there's) a lot of work behind the scenes that goes into these guys making it. It's a huge, huge honor. And looking forward to it." 

Nightingale will coach the team at the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championships, held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, from Dec. 26, 2026, to Jan. 5, 2027.

Nightingale has spent four seasons as head coach of MSU, bringing the Spartans back to Big Ten titles and NCAA tournament appearances for the past three seasons.  

This will be Nightingale's first time as head coach of the World Juniors’ team, although his experience in USA Hockey is extensive. 

Coaching on the World Stage

Nightingale spent two years coaching the U.S. National Development Team Program (NDTP) before he became MSU’s head coach in May 2022. He coached that team to a silver medal in the 2022 IIHF U-18 Men’s World Championship, held in Germany.

Nightingale served as assistant coach to the 2025 U.S. Men’s National Team last season, which former forward Isaac Howard competed on. The team won its first gold medal in 93 years. 

Nightingale has also been a part of the U.S. Men’s National Team coaching staff five times. He was an assistant coach when the team won bronze in 2021, and a video coach when it won bronze in 2018. Nightingale spent three seasons as the team’s video coach (2017-19).

Nightingale has previously coached 15 of the 25 players on Team USA’s 2026 Olympic gold-medal roster, dating back to his time as a video coach for the U.S. 2015 IIHF World Junior Team. He worked as a video coach for 2026 Olympic gold medalists Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski on that team.

NHL and Junior Hockey

Nightingale’s coaching experience began at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School (SSM), where he was head coach of the Midget AA team from 2008 to 2010. He then served as a video coach and worked in hockey operations at Michigan State University from 2010 to 2014 before returning to SSM as head coach of the Bantam team from 2014 to 2016.

Nightingale then became a video coach for the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres (2016-17) and Detroit Red Wings (2017-19). He served as an assistant coach to the Red Wings (2019-20) before his stint with the NTDP. 

Playing Experience

Nightingale was a member of the MSU hockey team from 2003-05 after transferring from Lake Superior State where he spent two seasons prior. 

He played four seasons of professional hockey in the ECHL before working as a construction superintendent. He left his position in 2008 to start his coaching career. 

Spartans in World Juniors

Nightingale will likely have the chance to coach Spartan commit Chase Reid on the World Juniors’ team. Reid played every game in the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship and is committed to MSU for the 2026-27 season. 

Many Spartans that have played under Nightingale have also competed for Team USA at World Juniors. 

Sophomore forward Shane Vansaghi and freshman forward Ryker Lee were on the 2026 team, and goaltender Trey Augustine was on the 2023-25 teams.