Prince George legend approaching historic milestone

“We’re in Prince George here, not just a visit, we’ve got business up here as far as hockey goes,” Nachbaur said.

Nachbaur is approaching history, as he is only 13 wins away from 752 wins all-time in the WHL, which is the current record held by Don Hay. Prior to becoming the head coach of Wenatchee in 2024, Nachbaur was with the Stockton Heat and Calgary Wranglers in the AHL before stepping back into the WHL, and he says when that decision was made the wins record wasn’t even on his mind.

“When I came back to the Western Hockey League that was not at the forefront, didn’t even think of that. It was more about my family, I’ve got a granddaughter, daughter, living in Washington. My wife and I own a home down there. It was just all about family, getting closer to her and my granddaughter. And next thing when I got the job, it hit me that I was close to that record, but it never was at the forefront,” Nachbaur said.

When he reflects on the success he’s had, he says it’s actually not something he set out to achieve when he started coaching, adding he didn’t believe he’d be in the league this long. However, now that he is only 13 wins away from tying the all-time record, he wanted to give a ton of credit to the players and the staff who helped form the teams he’s coached.

“It’s a tribute to the players that I’ve coached. I’ve had some good players in the past that are Hall of Famers in the National Hockey League. And those guys went on, they helped me win, and coaches don’t go on the ice and compete, they give the details to the players. They’re the ones who win the hockey game. So I’ve had good groups, and I give a lot of credit to the GMs that I’ve worked for and the scouts who find good players to make good teams, and I was there to reap the benefits,” he said.

It’s been a difficult season for the Wenatchee Wild, who have suffered many major injuries and are 11th place out of 12 teams in the Western Conference. However, Nachbaur says his team won’t go down without a fight.

“I’m going to be honest with you: If you have plans as an athlete to go to the NHL or play professional hockey, every game matters, there’s scouts in the stands. If we think we’re going to just play it out, we’re making a big mistake as an organization and a group of players,” Nachbaur said.

“If we step on the ice against the Cougars and think it’s going to be an easy game, we’ve made a mistake in preparation,” he continued.

Despite the standings, the Cougars know you can’t take a Nachbaur team lightly, so they are prepared to meet the intensity.

“He’s a very good coach, and he has his team’s ready. So that’s the challenge, how he gets his teams ready to play and the structure they play with and the intensity and the emotion they play with. Don Nachbaur’s teams are always like that,” Cougars Head Coach Mark Lamb said.

It’s highly likely Nachbaur will be the all-time wins leader next season, as he says he’s committed to bringing better days for Wenatchee.

“I’ve always been a competitive guy, and I’ve never been in an organization where you had to go through a rebuild, it was new to me. It was starting from the ground floor up, it’s about culture, building a good culture,” Nachbaur said.

The Cougars and the Wild will compete on Friday and Saturday night at the CN Centre in a weekend double header.

by Tommy Osborne

Prince George legend approaching historic milestone

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