Don Nachbaur is in his first season with the Western Hockey League’s Wenatchee Wild. Nachbaur had a relationship with Wenatchee General Manager Bliss Littler before being hired. His son Daniel actually played for the team during their British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) days.
“I’d known Bliss prior to that through coaching seminars, and we hit it off,” Nachbaur said.
He said he and Littler understood the game the same way and thought the game identically.
“When he reached out to me I was employed by the Calgary Flames,” he said. “He asked for permission, and at that time, I had two other teams in the same thing. So my wife and I were on vacation in Hawaii at the time, and I got a call from Calgary mentioning that a few teams had reached out and were interested to talk to me.”
He said one thing led to another, but was really excited about it since he’s from Washington.
“It was surprising at the time, but really excited too, because I’m from Washington,” Nachbaur said. “I’ve got a house in Tri-Cities. I’ve got a daughter and son-in-law and a granddaughter that live in Tri-City. So it was being close to home. It was coming home for me so and being back in the Western Hockey League, very familiar with, just style of play and the types of players that come into the league.”
He said his son made the joke that he couldn’t take the job because he wanted to be the only person in the family that had spent time with the Wild. He said Daniel loves the people he lived with and still talks about it today, so he was really comfortable accepting the job.
As far as the style of play fans should look for, Nachbaur explained his knowledge with his previous time in the WHL. He said it’s not just about stepping on the ice and playing hockey, but that they want to be structured with what they do.
“Guys with high IQ make great hockey players,” Nachbaur said. “When guys compete and work they’re also great hockey players.”
With the mixture of players they have, he said he has to mold them into a group that plays a game he likes and make sure they’re on the same page. More importantly, he wants to have a style of play that’s fun to watch for the fans.
If the opening weekend was any indication, fans should look for a team that can score in bunches as they did in their 7-1 victory at home over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday, Sept. 21.
“We’re trying to be an entertaining hockey team, but I think when the fans leave the building, we’ll know we worked to give it our best effort,” Nachbaur said. “That’s a real sign of respect from players and fans.”
As far as being an entertaining team, there isn’t really any certain style of play he’d say to look for. He said any good coach will sit back and look at the talent he has in front of him.
“It’s been a learning process, learning each player, learning individuals, but more importantly, learning the whole group to figure out how we’re gonna play,” Nachbaur said.
“When I was in Seattle, we played in a very small rink,” Nachbaur said. “We had great big defenseman, and every guy was 6′ 3″, and they were great skaters, but we had a simple system where we were very physical and were a defensive team, but were very successful because of our identity.”
In Tri-City, he had Carey Price in net with skilled forwards that could really skate. He explained the defensive capabilities there weren’t great, but they knew they had a goaltender in net who could make saves for them. With that, they were able to play a more wide-open run-and-gun style of play.
As far as the coaching staff goes, Nachbaur seemed pleased with what they built over the offseason and said he has a really good staff.
“We brought in Daniel Johnson from Calgary, who’s played in the Western Hockey League,” Nachbaur said. “He was a defenseman.”
Johnson also has pro experience both playing and coaching and with that, Nachbaur noted how he’ll be able to relate to the players as far as what they’re thinking.
Chris Clark has been with the Wild for a number of years with Nachbaur having high praise for him as well. Nachbaur said Clark has been good with information and just telling about what’s been going on with the WHL and their team.
As far as what Nachbaur will bring from his coaching days at the professional level, he said he really enjoys sitting down with players and breaking down video. He said they have talented players on their team, but that just chasing the puck isn’t hockey. Nachbaur noted you have to play with four other guys on the ice.
“A lot of what we have to change here is just structure,” Nachbaur said.
He talked about teaching players to be in the right areas and not being out of position.
“We spent the first three weeks really breaking down the way we faced the game and how we perceive the game,” Nachbaur said. “I think our guys have gotten better just learning the game, where you go, what to do, and why do those things in those situations.”
He emphasized how it’s all been about teaching and how that’s been a strong suit for him. He’s hoping by Christmas they’ll be a more structured team than they were last year. Nachbaur acknowledged the talent they lost in trades last season. He noted how they’re a much younger team and with that come mistakes.
“When you make mistakes, coaches have to be patient through those mistakes,” Nachbaur said.
As far as what’s most exciting to Nachbaur with this season, he emphasized the teaching aspect in saying it’s to see guys get better.
“It’s the second year in the Western Hockey League for the Wild and they brought me in because of my experience in the league,” Nachbaur said. “I know about the travel, I know about the three and three, I know about the mental toughness and situations.”
He expanded saying he knows it’s hard to play in the WHL and how tough it is to win games.
“It’s certainly not easy to score goals, and if you really want to break it down, it’s not easy to get drafted,” Nachbaur said.
If they want to have a chance at getting drafted, they have to play hard he explained.
“If they do that process, at the end result, maybe they get drafted, but they can’t expect to play easy,” Nachbaur said.
“We have got to see that in our players, and if they do that, we’ll have success both as a team and individual,” Nachbaur said.
Northwest Sports Desk 