EAST LANSING – Adam Nightingale was introduced as Michigan State’s hockey coach on Monday during a press conference in the Breslin Center at the Izzo Hall of History.

Here are five things we learned about Michiga State's new hockey coach from his press conference.

We always assume locker room character is a given on teams, whether they are successful or not.

For Adam Nightingale, the eighth coach to lead the Michigan State’s hockey program, character matters. Nightingale made mention of that that facet numerous times during his introduction on Monday, and it appears that no matter what kind of talent he’s able to bring to East Lansing in an effort to rebuild the program, lack of character will not be something that is tolerated.

“He was that type of player,’’ former Spartan teammate Jim Slater said of Nightingale, who scored just 12 goals and added 10 assists during his time as a Spartan. “He was someone in the locker room that wasn’t always going to score goals or get points, but he was a valuable asset to our to our team in that locker room and on the ice, a hard worker who was going to hold you accountable as a teammate, which is one of the hardest things to do as a teammate, and that’s how he coaches.’’

Another thing that was noticeable on Monday was Nightingale’s ability to loosen up a bit. In a situation where he could have been overly intense about his plans for the future of Spartan hockey, the 42-year-old had no problem tossing in a few lines that earned laughs.

Those jokes, however, didn’t take away from his mission statement about the future of the program, which will rely heavily on recruiting, accountability, dedication and hard work that grooms recruits for the NHL.

Nightingale filtered in jokes about his mother- and father-in-law and them not verbalizing their displeasure in the fact that their daughter married a hockey coach, who can live a nomadic life. He joked about former Spartan Zach McClellan’s inability to score a goal during his MSU career, and the spiffy green suit that one son was wearing for the presser. He actually brought his son on stage to show him off.

“I think he’s probably one of the low-key funniest people you’ll meet,’’ said former Spartan and former assistant Brent Darnell, who served as an assistant coach for two seasons under Nightingale while he was head coach at the USNTDP. “He has a way to make light of certain situations within a team setting where he can also pull a group together. I’ve seen players who don’t get a lot of ice time under him who would go to war for him in a second.’’

MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo’s opinion matters when it comes to interviewing a potential new hire, and there’s no doubt that Izzo had a strong say in Nightingale getting the job.

“I did a very small part in my interview in just meeting with him,” Izzo said, “but what I do like about him (Nightingale) and I’ve liked all of the guys we’ve had here, but you start saying why (would this be a good hire), what’s missing?

“He’s got a passion and an enthusiasm that I think you see that he’s a little bit different in that respect. Hopefully, that will be the difference.’’

Nightingale played just two seasons at MSU after transferring in from Lake Superior State back in 2002 and sitting out a year before playing for MSU from 2003-2005.

While athletic director Alan Haller talked about family and bringing back one of its own to the Spartan coaching carousel, Haller wanted to make sure that the whole former Spartan thing wasn’t one of the deciding or main factors why Nightingale got hired by MSU.

“What was very, very clear, the next coach didn’t need any Spartan ties,’’ Haller said of the advisory panel he put together to help select MSU’s next hockey coach. “They just wanted the best person to lead our team. In the end, we looked at the criteria and Adam Nightingale had everything we were looking for.’’

Nightingale echoed that sentiment when he talked about his interview process.

“You could tell it was a really thorough process and that was really important to me. They were doing their homework and I remember when I met with Alan (Haller) it was really important that . . . and I said to him, ‘if I’m here because I’m an alum, I don’t want the job.’ I really think Spartan hockey is different and I believe the community and the alums all understand that.’’

If that is true, that’s a pretty powerful statement to make and something that probably helped seal the deal in Nightingale being named the new coach.

There was an impressive group of former Spartans who played with Nightingale during his last two seasons that were in attendance on Monday, including Jim Slater, Drew Miller, Bryan Lerg and Jim McKenzie. But there was also another group of former MSU players who were there to lend their support. Former players like Justin Abdelkader, Jeff Lerg, Brad Fast and Zak McClellan. That tells you that they not only thought of MSU’s new coach highly enough to show up, but also to lend their whole-hearted support for his move into Munn Ice Arena.

Ron Mason as A.D. brought in Rick Comley.

Tom Anastos was Mark Hollis’ out-of- the-box hire.

Danton Cole was hired in part because he was a former player, who had had success as a coach and probably should have gotten the job before Anastos was named head coach.

Nightingale’s hire was obviously a departure from those previous coaching hires.

“He’s an awesome person, an awesome hockey mind and someone who I think is the right guy for the job,’’ former MSU goalie Jeff Lerg said of Nightingale, who hosted Lerg and his cousin Bryan Lerg on their initial recruiting visit. “He made me feel welcome here and I think he can do the same coming here as coach.’’