By Jaeden Demelo

Nachbaur Returns

Legendary WHL Coach Don Nachbaur made his return to Prince George

Mar 17, 2025 | 3:49 PM

PRINCE GEORGE— This past weekend, legendary Western Hockey League (WHL) coach Don Nachbaur returned to Prince George. The 66-year-old spent his formative years between the ages of 10 and 17 in Northern BC’s Capital before becoming one of the WHL’s winningest coaches.

“It’s a real privilege to come home. A lot of people have reached out to me whether I went to school with them or played hockey with them and I’ve got a lot of friends and family here,” said Nachbaur on his return to Prince George.

While hockey seems to be as popular as ever in Prince George, the game’s roots run deep in the city, even before the Spruce Kings came to town in 1972.

“It goes back to the 60’s when I was a kid. We used to line up for 100 yards deep to get a ticket to watch the Prince George Mohawks, the intermediate team in town,” said Nachbaur.

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“Prince George has always been a hockey town. What else do you do? I grew up on the outdoor rinks here every day after school, whether it was at Spruceland or Lakewood, we were out with friends, playing shinny, learning skills. It’s in our blood. That’s what Prince George is about.”

Fast forward to today and Nachbaur is the Head Coach of the Wenatchee Wild and chasing down Don Hay’s record (750), for the most wins by a head coach in WHL history. While he’s less than 40 wins off the record and has coached north of 1400 WHL games, he still loves coaching the next generation.

“I like coaching because of the teaching part and coaching junior hockey’s really raw. You get young kids first time away from home, so you have to mentor them off the ice as far as maturing and growing up to be an adult… This is the purest form of coaching and I enjoy that part,” said Nachbaur.

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Email: jaeden.demelo@pattisonmedia.com