| Round | Overall |
| 7 | 86 |
 |
 |
Right-hand shot
Pre-Draft Statistics
| Year | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
| 1968-69 | Ottawa | OHA | 52 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 47 |
| 1969-70 | Kitchener | OHA | 51 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 119 |
| 1970-71 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 31 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 70 |
Pre-Draft Notes
Won Michigan Tech Norbert Matovich Memorial Award (top freshman) in 1970-71.
Career Vitals
| First contract: | June 18, 1974 |
| Debut: | March 29, 1975 (Detroit vs. Pittsburgh) |
| Final NHL game: | April 3, 1977 (Detroit at Pittsburgh) |
| Retired: | 1978 |
| Stanley Cup: | Never won |
| Numbers worn: | 3, 24 |
Career NHL Statistics
Team: Detroit
Years: 1975-1977. Playoffs:
None
| Regular Season | |||||
| GP | G | A | TP | PIM | |
| 3 years | 57 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 34 |
| Stanley Cup Playoffs | |||||
| GP | G | A | TP | PIM | |
| 0 years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Complete statistics available at NHL.com | |||||
Pre-Draft Highlights
Played Junior C hockey in New Hamburg, Ontario, before entering
major-junior. ... Joined Ottawa (OHA) as 16-year-old in 1967 and had one
goal, 10 points, and 74 PIM in 52 games during his major-junior rookie
season of 1967-68. ... Earned WCHA All-Star Honorable Mention with Michigan Tech in 1970-71.
... Won Michigan Tech's Oustanding Freshman Athlete award (across all sports) in 1970-71.
Career Highlights
WCHA All-Star Honorable Mention with Michigan Tech in 1971-72. ... Won Michigan Tech Bobby Gitzen-Dick Loutit Memorial Award as outstanding defensive player in 1971-72. ... Named to WCHA All-Star Second Team with Michigan Tech in 1972-73. ... Won Michigan Tech Bobby Gitzen-Dick Loutit Memorial Award as outstanding defensive player in 1972-73. ... Was Michigan Tech captain in 1973-74. ... Named to NCAA All-Tournament Team with Michigan Tech in 1974 after loss to Minnesota in championship game. ... Named to NCAA West All-America First Team with Michigan Tech in 1973-74. ... Named to WCHA All-Star First Team in 1973-74. .... Won Michigan Tech's Outstanding Senior Athlete award (across all sports) in 1973-74. ... Won Michigan Tech Merv Youngs Award as MVP and Bobby Gitzen-Dick Loutit Memorial Award as outstanding defensive player in 1973-74. ... Left Michigan Tech in 1974 with school's career records for defensemen (since broken) in goals (33), assists (71), and points (104), and overall career record (since broken) for penalty minutes (316). ... Scored on slap shot from point at 19:24 of the third period to give Detroit 3-2 win at Vancouver on Feb. 6, 1977. ... Played on 1976-77 Kansas City team that won CHL regular-season title. ... Won CHL Adams Cup with Kansas City in 1977 when he rejoined team for playoffs after Detroit's regular season ended. ... Inducted into Michigan Tech University Sports Hall of Fame during ceremony prior to team's Oct. 28, 1989, home game vs. Northern Michigan.
Life Outside the NHL
Full Name: James
Herbert Nahrgang
Other Post-Draft Teams: Michigan Tech (WCHA); Virginia (AHL); New Haven (AHL); Kansas City (CHL); Philadelphia (AHL)
Education: Graduated from Michigan
Tech in 1974 with degree in business administration. An outstanding
student, he served as vice president of the Michigan Tech chapter of
Blue Key, the National Honor Society, as a senior in 1973-74. ... Has
Professional in Human Resources certification.
Career Beyond Hockey: Went into
construction business, specializing in staffing and human resources, after his coaching career at Michigan Tech and
eventually worked for Cherne Contracting Corp. from 1991 to 1996. He
then became Vice President, Human Resources, at Ryan Companies U.S. in
Minneapolis. He later relocated to Southfield, Mich., to join Barton
Malow construction company as Vice President of Human Resources on June
2, 2008. He remained in that position until his retirement in December
2013. Upon retirement, he moved to the Phoenix, Ariz., area and founded
Herbert James Partners in January 2014. His current business offers
human-resources consulting for companies in the construction industry.
•
Nahrgang on LinkedIn
Family: Brother-in-law of former NHL
player Bob Lorimer. ... Father of 2002 U.S. Olympian Andrea Nahrgang,
who competed in the biathlon event at Salt Lake City.
Coaching Career
Named Michigan Tech (WCHA) assistant coach following retirement as a player in 1978 and remained in that position until March 17, 1982. ... Named Michigan Tech (WCHA) head coach on March 17, 1982, and remained in that position until May 31, 1985 (formal resignation announced Feb. 7, 1985).
Miscellaneous:
| Selected by Cleveland Crusaders in 1973 WHA draft of players already drafted by NHL. | Traded by Ottawa (OHA) to Peterborough prior to 1969-70 season. | Major-junior rights traded by Peterborough (OHA) to Kitchener on Oct. 10, 1969. | Played all three forward positions in addition to defense during 1976-77 season. |
| Sent down by Detroit to Kansas City (CHL) on March 8, 1977, but recalled one week later. | Played on Detroit team that lost to Minnesota on "Guaranteed Win Night" on March 31, 1977. | Named one of WCHA's 50 greatest players upon league's 50th anniversary in 2001-02. | Worked at Michigan Tech hockey school in off-seasons during his playing days.. |
| SNAPSHOT '71 | |
| Total Selected: | 117 |
| Forwards: | 63 |
| Defense: | 45 |
| Goaltenders: | 9 |
| Major Junior: | 84 |
| College Players: | 19 |
| Canadian: | 107 |
| Euro-Canadian: | 2 |
| American: | 8 |
| European: | 0 |
| Reached NHL: | 50 |
| Won Stanley Cup: | 5 |
| Hall of Fame: | 3 |
| All-Star Game: | 10 |
| Year-end All-Star: | 5 |
| Olympians: | 4 |
| Picks Traded: | 18 |
| 1971 PICKS BY TEAM | ||
| Boston | Buffalo | California |
| Chicago | Detroit | Los Angeles |
| Minnesota | Montreal | New York |
| Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | St. Louis |
| Toronto | Vancouver | |
OTHERS DRAFTED IN 1971