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As Nelson saw it, the best route back to the majors wasn’t an assistant position in Edmonton or elsewhere, but rather the top job behind a bench in the AHL. So rather than pursue a role on McLellan’s staff, he focused his attention on finding a head coaching job. Ultimately, he took over behind the bench of the Grand Rapids Griffins, replacing current Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill in the role. It wasn’t an entirely new situation, as Nelson had been an assistant coach with the Griffins back in 2002-03.

His return to the team started poorly. The Griffins lost seven of their first eight games and then went 1-1-1 over their next three. But then they won, and won again, and again, stringing together 15 consecutive victories in all. They’ve been around the 0.500 mark since and on the season now sit fifth in the AHL’s Western Conference by point percentage with a 24-16-2 record.

Nelson praised his forwards and his goalies, but saved his strongest words for his blue line.

“Our defensive corps is as strong as anybody’s in the league,” he said. “We have seven guys right now that it’s hard to sit one guy out because they’re all very capable. We have seven guys that can play well and contribute so we have to keep guys fresh and do a rotation, which stinks but I don’t see any other way of doing it.”

By AHL standards, Nelson has an extremely strong group. Jakub Kindl recently cleared waivers, but likely would not have if not for contract considerations. Veterans Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch have combined for nearly 300 career NHL games. Rookie Robbie Russo leads the blue line in scoring. Prospect Xavier Ouellet is in his third AHL campaign and has 25 games of NHL experience. Ryan Sproul is a strong prospect, while Nick Jensen was briefly recalled by the Red Wings last week.