Dan Nachbaur didn't need to ask for directions to find the Prince George Coliseum when he arrived Saturday clutching his hockey gear.
His father Don played in that rink many times while working his way up the city's minor hockey ranks before he went on to earn his living as an NHL forward.
Now Dan is a forward for the Spruce Kings after they finalized a deal to acquire him from the Merritt Centennials for future considerations. Nachbaur was expected to play in Saturday's game at the Coliseum against Coquitlam.
"Daniel's a good 200-foot player who plays with a lot of energy, not surprisingly, knowing who his dad is," said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "He has good offensive abilities and he'll end up putting up 15 or 20 goals this year.
"He works hard every shift. He's a blue-collar kid whose dad and him have some ties to a blue-collar community here in Prince George and he'll be a tremendous fit for us. The transition should be easy for him, knowing some guys on the team and with some family in town.
The 19-year-old Nachbaur was born in Richland, Wash. in 1995, while his dad was head coach of the Tri-City Americans. Dan makes his off-season home in Seattle, but has extensive roots in north central B.C. His dad was born in Kitimat but spent his formative years in Prince George. His aunt and uncle and cousins live in the city.
Having grown up in the U.S. in the Pacific Northwest, Dan has crossed a lot of the same hockey paths as Spruce Kings forwards Chad Staley and Jeremiah Luedtke and they played together on the Wenatchee Wild midget team in three seasons ago.
Don Nachbaur gained a reputation as a tough centreman while playing eight seasons in the NHL with Hartford, Edmonton and Philadelphia from 1979-1994. His 14-year pro career ended after four seasons playing in Austria. He's now in his fifth season as head coach of the Spokane Chiefs. On Sept. 27 he became the fourth WHL head coach to win 600 career games when the Chiefs beat Tri-City in Spokane.
"Shortly after I had a good conversation with Daniel I got a call from Don and he expressed how happy he was to have his son coming to Prince George to play,"said Hawes. "It's a good situation for Daniel and a good situation for us."
After playing one season of midget hockey in Phoenix, Ariz., Dan caught on with Merritt last season, retracing the path his father followed when he began his junior career in 1976-77 with the Cents. As a BCHL sophomore Dan collected six goals and 13 points in 35 games. In 25 games this season he totaled seven goals 10 points and 19 penalty minutes.
In one other roster move announced Saturday, the Kings sent 20-year-old defenceman Valik Chichkin to the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL for future considerations. The six-foot-three, 205-pound Chichkin was an off-season acquisition, picked up in the trade that sent 20-year-old defenceman Skylar Pacheco to the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Chichkin had a goal and two assists in 17 games with the Kings.
"It's a situation where I want to give more minutes on defence for our three rookie defencemen [Alex Stoley, Ryan Fritz and Matthew Stief]," said Hawes. "It's a good opportunity for Valik as well, Camrose is 23-3 on the year, one of the top teams in Canada, so he's going to a real good organization."
