CANTLON’S CORNER: NACHBAUR HAS CT HOCKEY DNA 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Hartford gave Don Nachbaur a chance to live two hockey dreams. The first was when he was an active player and the second came when he returned last week for “Whalers Weekend” at Dunkin’ Donuts Park. It made him truly happy.

“It’s awesome to be back in the city again. I have seen so many old friends and faces the last two days; it’s hard to keep track of all of them,” Nachbaur said. His smile radiated throughout the entire room. “Taking it all in 36 years later, how much the city has changed. This is fantastic. The late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, it was a vibrant downtown scene. Then it had plenty of places to go, eat, and every day it was a happy place. Kinda sad to see how things have gotten in a bad way here.

“We used to go to places and meet the fans and had a great time. You don’t see too much of that now. The Yards Goats, thankfully, are doing great things today in honoring the Whalers though. I really appreciate it. It always thrills me to reconnect with a lot of people.”

Now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings, Nachbaur was selected in the third round (60th overall) in the early 1980’s by the Whalers. The pick came during their first NHL Draft. Nachbaur was a grinding, hard-working, left-winger who battled his way from the Billings (MT) Bighorns (WHL) to the Connecticut capitol by scoring 44 goals, logging 96 points and 175 PM in 69 games in the season that got him drafted.

Right off the bat, Nachbaur got to see some of his hockey dreams come true, from playing in the NHL to getting to be with his boyhood heroes.

“A lot of players wish they had the kind of memories I had. I got to play some exhibition games with Gordie Howe and Dave Keon that first year and it was something you never forget. Real icons of the game to be around. They were something. Talking to Marty Howe today, I told him his Dad was my hero. I said to sit and play a few games with him was something I treasure greatly. I played with Marty in Springfield my first year and with Mark in Hartford and then again in Philadelphia not many people can say they played with all three Howes on three different teams,” Nachbaur said with a laugh.

His first NHL camp in 1979-’80, he found himself face-to-face with “Mr. Maple Leaf” of the 1960’s, Dave Keon. Not often did Nachbaur get to attend his first NHL training camp with one of his heroes, but he also got to room with him.

“As a kid, I wrote #14 – Dave Keon on all my sticks and when they told me at camp he was gonna be my roommate, I almost jumped out my socks right there. It was amazing that this was actually happening.

“In fact, I just reached out to him. He’s living in Florida and I was talking to him about coming here,” Nachbaur said. “We have kept in contact at points over the years and he is still as classy now as he was then. I have incredible respect for him. That’s what’s so great about this sport, the relationships you develop, and the good ones that last a lifetime. The Whalers gave me that chance to have these experiences.”

As a young man growing up in Kitimat, BC, hockey was just as much King of Canada then as it is today… just a bit different.

“Back in those days, we had just five Canadian teams. Mostly two were on national TV in Toronto and Montreal, and the Maple Leafs were my team.”

His first NHL goal he remembers clearly.

“Assisted by Nick Fotiu and Mark Howe. I got the puck in the high slot and zipped it past (ex-Whaler) Pittsburgh’s Greg Millen (now an announcer of Ottawa Senators broadcasts), didn’t miss that shot,” said Nachbaur as if the play happened yesterday.

His time in Hartford was brief. He was part of the famous deal that sent Mark Howe to Philadelphia where he was then flipped to Edmonton with Ken “The Rat” Linseman and a draft pick for slick skating defenseman, Risto Siltanen.

“The draft pick turned out to be Troy Loney who I played with at the end of my NHL career. It was tough to get a spot in Edmonton then. They had guys named Gretzky, Kurri, and Messier, so I was on Moncton their (AHL) farm team. I had a solid season, but there was no room for me up there (in Edmonton).”

Nachbaur put up solid numbers for the Moncton Alpines scoring 33 goals, tallying 66 points and 125 PM in 70 games.

He was picked up on waivers in the summer by Los Angeles, but that didn’t work out.

“They had turmoil right from the start. The coach, Don Perry, was a pretty popular guy in New Haven as I remember (second leading all-time point scorer and PM guy with EHL New Haven Blades) got fired early. It was crazy, so I didn’t get time in LA.”

However, their farm team was in New Haven and that was a good thing as he had a solid season with the Nighthawks. Nachbaur registered 65 points, on 33 goals and 194 PIM in 70 games. It showcased him for other teams.

“I had a really good year there. I had tons of ice time. My game got better and I was in all types of situations. A lot of friends from Hartford came down to see me play and vice versa. Hartford and New Haven were similar, both fun places to play. I got to play with Daryl Evans, Warren Holmes, Mario Lessard and an old Whaler teammate, Alan Hangsleban, who was at the end of his career. There was a lot of NHL experience on that team,” Nachbaur remarked.

The next season he hooked-up with Philadelphia and played in Hershey where he won a Calder Cup title. He was also a key recall for the Flyers playing the crashing and banging role and scrapping when needing to. He was in Philly for five seasons.

“It was great hockey culture in Hershey. We had that Calder Cup and a couple Stanley Cup runs with Philly, but we came up a bit short. They were both great organizations there because it was a winning mentality in both places and as a player, that’s all you can ask for.”

After five years bouncing up and down between Philadelphia and Hershey, Nachbaur decided to head to Europe where he stayed for four years playing for EC Graz in Austria. While he was there, he played with former Whaler teammate, Paul Lawless, for one year and closing out his playing career.

After hanging up his skates, he headed back to his western roots where he had a six-year run with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He also had a six-year run with the Tri-City Americans, followed by another seven with the Spokane Chiefs before going to LA, where he is at present.

“I was lucky to catch a job so quickly after I was done playing. It’s with high-level kids between 16-20 (years old) trying to get to the NHL and I knew all about that. It has had its challenges over the years, but I have been very fortunate to be able to coach some very talented, young players who have gone on to the NHL and become major stars like Carey Price and Patrick Marleau. It’s one of the rewards of coaching junior hockey.”

Sandwiched in between, Nachbaur returned to Philadelphia where he was an assistant with AHL Phantoms, and then Binghamton where he was a head coach. In LA, he has former Whaler, John Stevens, serving as the head coach. The two have a history.

“John and I played in Hershey together and we were together with the Phantoms. It’s the relationships you develop over the years. I was in the WHL six or seven years when Philly called about the AHL opening with the Philadelphia Phantoms. That’s how it works sometimes. After a few years, I headed back to the Western League. I wanted to be a head coach again after two years as an assistant.

“It was also, in part, about my family, and the kids. Now, I never had the big dream to coach in the NHL, but it is a good organization, and it was the right time to make this move,” Nachbaur said of his second tour of duty with the Kings. This time he made it to the City of Angels.

The game has changed dramatically from his days in Hartford and New Haven.

“The players, as always, are self-driven and clearly the money in the game is amazing. We just a signed a player (Drew Doughty) to an eight-year, $88 million-dollar deal $11 million a year, for one player! I will be willing to wager that salary was more than the total combined salaries of the last three teams, NHL and AHL combined, that I played on.

“It has drastically changed the way we do business. In my day, we wanted to play in the NHL, and yes, make some money to play in the NHL was a driving force, and the money wasn’t there for us then, but today money is a big part of the equation. You can’t escape it.”

While he has been on the West Coast in junior and pro hockey, Nachbaur has one foot still in the New England region. His son, Daniel, attends and plays hockey at UMASS-Boston (NECSAC), a Division III program.

“He really loves it out here and he is working this summer in Boston and taking classes. As a parent, you appreciate the dedication to come out here. He’s been out West his whole life. He is learning that you have to work to earn stuff in life, and his older sister works for the Department of Energy now, and I couldn’t be prouder of both of them.”

With a potential NHL expansion team coming to Seattle in a few years, Don Nachbaur might be a name tossed about in the Pacific Northwest once again. At the heart of all of that, Nachbaur’s heart is still in Hartford where the Whalers made his hockey dreams possible.

(This is series Four on Whalers Alumni Features will conclude with a dual feature on Brian Propp and Chuck Kaiton)