Nightingale Named Head Coach of 2027 U.S. National Junior Team
Michigan State head coach set to lead U.S. in 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Adam Nightingale (Cheboygan, Mich./Michigan State University), who just finished his fourth season as the head men’s ice hockey coach at Michigan State University where he has led the Spartans to the last three Big Ten regular-season championships, will serve as head coach of the 2027 U.S. National Junior Team it was announced today by USA Hockey. The team will play in the 2027 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, 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. “He knows the player pool extremely well and has such a good handle on what it takes to win on the international stage.”
During his time at MSU, Nightingale has led the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament in three of his four campaigns, and his USA Hockey experience is wide-ranging, including serving as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
The U.S. will enter the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship having won two of the last three gold medals in the tournament. In addition, the U.S. has earned a medal in eight of the last 11 World Juniors, the best stretch in the history of the country.
Team USA will compete in Group B against Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden in the preliminary round at Marchant Crane Centrium in Red Deer. Group A, which includes Canada, Czechia, Latvia, Norway and Switzerland, will play its preliminary round contests at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Two quarterfinals will be played at each venue with both semifinals, along with the bronze and gold-medal games, being staged at Rogers Place.
ABOUT NIGHTINGALE
Nightingale, head coach of Michigan State University’s men’s ice hockey team and longtime contributor to USA Hockey, will lead the U.S. National Junior Team as head coach for the first time.
On the international stage, Nightingale has supported teams on seven different occasions, including as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning 2025 U.S. Men’s National Team. He also served as head coach for the U.S. in the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship, where Team USA earned silver. In addition, the Cheboygan, Mich., native was an assistant coach for the U.S. 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 tournaments and 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Prior to his time in with Michigan State, Nightingale spent two seasons as a head coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (2020-22) developing some of the top players in their age group. He has also spent time in the NHL with the coaching staffs of the Detroit Red Wings (assistant coach, 2019-20; video coach, 2017-19) and Buffalo Sabres (video coach, 2016-17).
Prior to his time in with Michigan State, Nightingale spent two seasons as a head coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (2020-22) developing some of the top players in their age group. He has also spent time in the NHL with the coaching staffs of the Detroit Red Wings (assistant coach, 2019-20; video coach, 2017-19) and Buffalo Sabres (video coach, 2016-17).
Prior to his time in professional hockey, he served as head coach of Shattuck-St. Mary’s 14U team for two seasons (2014-16), leading the program to a USA Hockey 14U Tier I National Championship in 2016. He also spent two years as head coach of the school’s 18U AA program from 2008-10.
Between his stints with Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Nightingale spent four seasons with Michigan State as the men’s hockey team’s director of operations, a role in which he oversaw all the team’s video and travel needs.
A 2005 Michigan State graduate, Nightingale played four seasons of NCAA Division I hockey, first with Lake Superior State (2000-02) before concluding his collegiate career with the Spartans (2003-05), serving as alternate captain in both campaigns with Michigan State. He finished his playing career by playing four seasons (2005-08) in the ECHL.
