LOS ANGELES—The LA Kings have appointed former Spokane Chiefs (of the Western Hockey League) Head Coach Don Nachbaur as the team’s new Assistant Coach, announced GM Rob Blake and Head Coach John Stevens.

Hailing from Kitimat, British Columbia, Nachbaur, 58, will serve under Stevens and join fellow Assistant Coach Dave Lowry and Goaltending Coach Bill Ranford.

Nachbaur played 14 years of professional hockey before beginning his coaching career. He was selected by the Hartford Whalers in the third round (60th overall) of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft and made his debut with the team at the start of the 1980-1981 season.

In eight seasons, he played with the Whalers from 1980 to 1982, the Edmonton Oilers from 1982-1983, and the Philadelphia Flyers from 1985 to 1990. He appeared in 223 regular season games in addition to 11 Stanley Cup playoff games.

Nachbaur concluded his regular season career with 69 points (comprised of 23 goals and 46 assists) and 465 penalty minutes. In his NHL postseason career, he posted two points (one goal and one assist) and 24 penalty minutes.

Over nine seasons (two of which included a plus-30 rating), Nachbaur divided his AHL playing career amongst the Moncton Alpines (1982-1983), the New Haven Knighthawks (1983-1984), the Kings then-affiliate team, and the Hershey Bears (1984-1990), the Flyers AHL affiliate.

Nachbaur attained 33 goals with the Alpines and 33 goals with the Knighthawks while playing on a line alongside Daryl Evans, former Kings left wing and current radio analyst. He earned 100-plus penalty minutes in the league seven times and a career-peaking 301 penalty minutes with the Bears.

In 469 career AHL regular season games, Nachbaur recorded 360 points (174 goals and 186 assists) and 1,452 penalty minutes. In 43 career AHL playoff games (all of which were with the Bears) he collected 24 points (9 goals and 15 assists) along with 222 penalty minutes. Nachbaur won a Calder Cup championship with the Bears in 1988.

Nachbaur and Stevens’ playing careers overlapped for four seasons in the Philadelphia/Hershey system. They played alongside one another in Philadelphia (NHL) and Hershey (the Flyers AHL affiliate) from 1986 to 1990.

Beginning in 1994-1995 with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Nachbaur holds 20-plus years of coaching experience. In the WHL, he was the Head Coach the Thunderbirds from 1994 to 2000 and the Tri-City Americans from 2003 to 2009. He served as an Assistant Coach in the AHL for the Binghamton Senators from 2009-2010 and, before that, the Philadelphia Phantoms from 2000 to 2002. With the Phantoms, he was the Assistant Coach under Stevens, then-Head Coach (2000-2006).

“Don is a great addition to our coaching staff. I personally have known him 30-plus years. I played with him and have coached alongside him. He has played the game at a high level and he is a tremendous all-around teacher who is very well-rounded,” Stevens said.