Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Michael Caples
Adam Nightingale Named Head Coach of 2027 U.S. National Junior Team
4/8/2026 12:05:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Adam Nightingale, who recently finished his fourth season at the helm of the Michigan State hockey program, has been selected as the next head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team, as announced by USA Hockey on Wednesday. The team will play at the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship on Dec. 26, 2026 – Jan. 5, 2027, in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.
"Adam is an excellent coach, and we are excited to have him guiding and helping build our team," said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the U.S. National Junior Team and also assistant executive director of USA Hockey, in a press release. "He knows the player pool extremely well and has such a good handle on what it takes to win on the international stage."
Nightingale is no stranger to USA Hockey, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning U.S. Men's National Team at the 2025 IIHF Men's World Championships. He has supported Team USA on seven occasions, which includes working as head coach of the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship team that earned silver. Additionally, Nightingale was an assistant coach at the 2021 IIHF Men's World Championship and served as a video coach at the 2017, 2018 and 2019 IIHF Men's World Championship and 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments.
"There are so many good coaches that they could take, to be able to represent our country on that stage," said Nightingale. "It's a huge, huge honor and I'm looking forward to it."
Team USA will compete in Group B against Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden in the preliminary round at Marchant Crane Centrium in Red Deer. Other participating nations in Group A include Canada, Czechia, Latvia, Norway and Switzerland.
In his four seasons since returning to East Lansing, Nightingale has brought the Spartan hockey program back to national prominence. With an overall record of 95-44-11, Nightingale is a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and has led Michigan State to three consecutive Big Ten regular season titles, two Big Ten Tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. His .670 winning percentage ranks second all-time at MSU behind only the legendary Ron Mason's .687.
Since taking over as head coach in 2022, Nightingale and his staff have produced 20 professional hockey players with four making their NHL debuts since 2023 (Porter Martone, Isaac Howard, Karsen Dorwart, Artyom Levshunov).
"Adam is an excellent coach, and we are excited to have him guiding and helping build our team," said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the U.S. National Junior Team and also assistant executive director of USA Hockey, in a press release. "He knows the player pool extremely well and has such a good handle on what it takes to win on the international stage."
Nightingale is no stranger to USA Hockey, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning U.S. Men's National Team at the 2025 IIHF Men's World Championships. He has supported Team USA on seven occasions, which includes working as head coach of the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship team that earned silver. Additionally, Nightingale was an assistant coach at the 2021 IIHF Men's World Championship and served as a video coach at the 2017, 2018 and 2019 IIHF Men's World Championship and 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments.
"There are so many good coaches that they could take, to be able to represent our country on that stage," said Nightingale. "It's a huge, huge honor and I'm looking forward to it."
Team USA will compete in Group B against Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden in the preliminary round at Marchant Crane Centrium in Red Deer. Other participating nations in Group A include Canada, Czechia, Latvia, Norway and Switzerland.
In his four seasons since returning to East Lansing, Nightingale has brought the Spartan hockey program back to national prominence. With an overall record of 95-44-11, Nightingale is a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and has led Michigan State to three consecutive Big Ten regular season titles, two Big Ten Tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. His .670 winning percentage ranks second all-time at MSU behind only the legendary Ron Mason's .687.
Since taking over as head coach in 2022, Nightingale and his staff have produced 20 professional hockey players with four making their NHL debuts since 2023 (Porter Martone, Isaac Howard, Karsen Dorwart, Artyom Levshunov).
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