The Manitoba Moose have filled a key vacancy on their coaching staff, hiring veteran coach and former pro defenceman Bob Nardella as an assistant coach under head coach Mark Morrison for the 2025-26 AHL season.

The position opened earlier this summer when long-time assistant coach Eric Dubois departed after spending nine seasons behind the Moose bench. The organization turned to Nardella, a coach with over a decade of experience to step into the role.

Nardella began his coaching career in 2012-13 with the Chicago Wolves as a skills coach before being promoted to a full-time assistant role in 2014-15. He remained on the Wolves’ staff for nearly a decade, highlighted by a Calder Cup championship in 2022. In 2023-24, the Melrose Park, Illinois, native was elevated to head coach of the Wolves.

Before stepping behind the bench, Nardella enjoyed a strong playing career. The steady, puck-moving defenceman spent seven seasons with the Wolves in the AHL and IHL, where he recorded 298 points (59 goals, 239 assists) in 476 games. He helped the team capture two Turner Cups (1998, 2000) and the 2002 Calder Cup. His playing career also included time in Italy and Germany, as well as international competition with Italy at the 1998 and 2006 Winter Olympics.

Nardella’s hockey roots stretch back to his days with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL, where he set a single-season franchise scoring record with 111 points in 1987-88. He later played three years at Ferris State University, making the transition from forward to defence in his final season and posting a breakout 40-point campaign.

With his wealth of experience as both a player and a coach, Nardella joins a Moose squad eager to turn the page. Manitoba will be looking to rebound after enduring a franchise-worst season in 2024-25.