Wil
Nichol, the former boys hockey head coach at Stevens Point Area Senior High
School (SPASH) and former head coach for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens
Point (UWSP) men’s hockey team, was named the director of player development for
the National Hockey League’s (NHL) newly awarded expansion franchise in Las
Vegas Thursday, Aug. 4.

A
Madison native, Nichol was a defenseman for the UWSP men’s hockey team from
1994-98 and was the captain on its NCAA Division III National Runner-up team in
1998.

He
served as the head coach for the SPASH boys hockey team for the 2005-06 and
2006-07 seasons, as the Panthers went 46-3, including back-to-back 16-0 seasons
in the Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) and two trips to the WIAA Division 1
State Tournament.

He
took over as the head coach for UWSP men’s hockey in 2007 and went 54-48-8 in
four seasons, before he stepped down following the 2010-11 season and joined
the NHL’s Washington Capitals organization as an amateur scout, a role he held
for the last five years.

During
part of his time with the Capitals, Nichol worked under general manager George
McPhee, who was named the general manager of the Las Vegas franchise July 13.

Prior
to taking over as the head coach at SPASH, Nichol spent one season as a student
assistant coach at UWSP, two seasons as a graduate assistant at Miami
University (Ohio) and three seasons with the Chicago Steel of the United States
Hockey League (USHL), where he served as an assistant coach for one season and
as the head coach and general manager for two.

Nichol
was the third person officially hired to the Las Vegas franchise, which is
expected to begin play in the NHL for the 2017-18 season.