Nelson Emerson

Nelson Emerson. Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator.

The speedy and smooth Nelson Emerson
Now part of Los Angeles Kings coaching staff after playing with eight NHL clubs

Born in Hamilton in 1967, Nelson Emerson has had a long and illustrious career in hockey at the collegiate, semi-professional, and professional level as both a player and a coach.

Before making his NHL debut with the St. Louis Blues for the 1990-91 season, Emerson played Junior B with the Stratford Cullitons for two seasons starting in 1984. For the 1985-86 season, he led the league with 54 goals and 112 points.

He then enrolled at Bowling Green University, and for the next four years had an outstanding performance. He scored 26 goals in his freshman year, and was named CCHA Rookie of the Year for the 1986-87 season. The next year he scored 34 goals and amassed 83 points. He scored 22 times in his third year, and 30 times in his final year at school, and was named to the league’s First and Second All-Star team several times. He also received the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in US collegiate hockey. Not a large player, Emerson was known for his speed on the ice, and his smooth style of playing.

After a short term with the IHL’s Peoria Rivermen, Emerson started with the Blues in November of 1990. He went back to Peoria, then was called up to St. Louis once more, where he played 79 games in the 1991-92 season, scoring 23 times.

During his second season with the Blues, Emerson wanted to build upon his successful first year.
“After last year everybody talked about the sophomore jinx and the coaching staff sat down with me and discussed it,” said Emerson in May of 1993. “I came into this year determined to be mentally ready to play, to work hard, and have a better year.”

No longer a part of the Blues’ power play in his second year, Emerson played alongside Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hill, Craig Janney and Jeff Brown.

“I played on the point on the power play all season and didn’t play forward, which may explain the drop in goals and the increase in assists,” added the Waterford resident. “I learned a lot this season. As the season progressed I felt more and more comfortable.”

The right winger then went to play for the Winnipeg Jets, and during the 1993-94 season had his most productive hockey in his NHL career with 33 goals in 83 games. He played a limited schedule with the Jets the following season, and then went to the Hartford Whalers for the next two seasons.

Emerson had a good year with 29 goals for the 1995-96 season with the Whalers. After two seasons in Hartford, the club was moved to Carolina, and known as the Hurricanes for the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.

He also played for Canada in the World Cup at this time, scoring twice in six games.

For the 1998-99 season Emerson went to Chicago, and played only 27 games with the Black Hawks before he was traded to the Ottawa Senators in March of 1999. Later that year he signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Thrashers, and scored 33 points in 58 games before heading west to the Los Angles Kings in a trade where he played three seasons before retiring after the 2001-02 season.

Of the 771 games he played in the NHL, Emerson scored 195 goals, and picked up 293 assists for a total of 488 points.

Emerson then began a new career in hockey in coaching, starting as a coaches’ aide for the Kings during the 2003-04 season. He was also head coach of the Los Angeles Junior Kings Midget AAA club, an assistant coach with the Kings, and was named as Coordinator of Player Development and Systems Integration with the Kings at the start of the 2008-09 season.

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