The shortest active skater in the National Hockey League (NHL), Nathan Gerbe ended his hockey career by taking a coaching position with the Nashville Predators.
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The Tennessee squad announced Wednesday that the 35-year-old is the new coach for the team’s forward development. Former Montreal Canadiens player Sébastien Bordeleau was promoted and left that position to become John Hynes’ player development coach.
A tenacious 5-foot-4 forward, Gerbe enjoyed a career that spanned 13 professional seasons. He has 151 points in 435 NHL games.
The centerman was drafted in the fifth round (142nd overall) by the Buffalo Sabers at the 2005 auction. He received his first opportunities at the Bettman Circuit in the 2008-2009 season and he stayed there full-time through 2015–16.
After a brief exile in Switzerland, Gerbe returned to North America with the Columbus Blue Jackets and spent six seasons with the organization. After undergoing major hip surgery and another for a double fracture, the American was called back from the big club a number of times between 2019 and 2021.
Captain of the Cleveland Monsters’ last two campaigns in the American League, Gerbe did not play a game last season.
The Predators also hired Ronda Engelhardt as their North American scout. She is the first woman in franchise history to hold such a position. Since 2018, she has been the head coach of the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier League Federation (PHF).