Colgate has announced Chris Nell as the men’s hockey team’s newest assistant coach and director of hockey operations.
Nell will serve as the Raiders’ goalie coach.
“Chris has rapidly ascended through the goalie coaching ranks, and we are so excited to have him join our staff,” Colgate head coach Mike Harder said in a statement. “His ability to teach the position, think through the game, and push our student-athletes to get better every day will be an enormous asset to our Colgate hockey community. His passion is both evident and contagious.”
Nell arrives in Hamilton after serving as the assistant/goalie coach with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers in 2023-24.
He got his start in collegiate coaching at Marian, where he spent the last two years as the goalie coach for both the men’s and women’s programs.
Nell played professional hockey from 2017 to 2022. He spent 110 games between the pipes in the ECHL, posting a 3.33 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage. Nell also recorded a 3.18 GAA and a .893 save percentage in 31 AHL games.
He played college hockey at Bowling Green. As a sophomore, Nell earned first team all-WCHA honors after recording one of the best seasons in program history. He set the Bowling Green record in goals-against average (1.91) and save percentage (.930) while posting an 18-11-6 record.
As a junior, Nell totaled 807 saves and logged a 2.15 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. He finished atop the Bowling Green record book in career shutouts (11), career save percentage (.922), and career GAA (2.07).
Nell graduated from Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2022 with a BA in organizational leadership.
