There were several changes that happened during the offseason for the Nailers. How do you think these adjustments will affect the team going into this season?
Boy, talk about an active offseason. Normally you wouldn’t hear as much about a hockey team when they don’t have any games going on as you did about the Nailers over the last few months, but when a 29-year affiliation comes to an end, causing a cascading effect of other movements, it’s definitely something worth covering.
Full disclosure: I am still a Penguins fan, in addition to a Nailers fan. While I am disappointed in the decision of the Hoffman family to change their affiliate to the Florida “Ever-Whatevers,” it’s entirely their right to do so as owners of both franchises, and it makes business sense. But as a fan of the hockey team here in Wheeling, it does hurt to think we’re no longer a part of that organizational structure.
That being said, I do think it’s an exciting opportunity to experience a new fandom, a new organizational model, and see what a team who hasn’t had an ECHL affiliate in years is able to do when building that level again. While it may cause a number of differences from last year, I’m still very excited to see what this edition of the Wheeling Nailers is able to accomplish as part of the Columbus/Cleveland organization.
One of the big differences that happened with that change in affiliation was a change in the head coach position, as last year’s head coach (Ryan Papaioannou, whose name I just had to look up because I forgot how to spell it) was an employee of the Penguins organization, so he left when the change took place (then didn’t even stay with Pittsburgh, as he moved on to become head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL).
That change caused the Nailers to begin their search for a new head coach. Enter Nate Dicasmirro (whose name I will now have to learn how to spell as well). Nate played 17 years in both North America and Europe before beginning his coaching career in 2019 as the junior coach with EC KAC of the Alps Hockey League, then jumped back to North America to be an assistant coach of the Iowa Wild in the AHL in 2021. He moved back to Austria to become an assistant coach with the Graz 99ers, and this move to Wheeling is his first opportunity to be a head coach.
I look forward to seeing how he assimilates his knowledge of European hockey to the North American game and molds this Nailers team how he sees fit.
In addition to the above upper-level differences, significant changes happened to the roster from last year to this season. What do you think of the makeup of the roster for the Nailers this year?
With the move in affiliation, a number of players who were on last year’s squad that were here on NHL or AHL contracts had to move on as well. Gone are the likes of Taylor Gauthier, David Breazeale, and Brent Johnson. We also lost players who were not a part of that organization and were signed directly to Wheeling, like last year’s captain, Matthew Quercia, who is now playing for the AHL Chicago Wolves.
While it does suck to see such an outflow of talented players who helped the Nailers win the North Division last season (btw, thanks for the division championship on the way out the door back to the Central Division, suckers), the openings on the roster afforded Coach Dicasmirro the opportunity to start putting his stamp on this team, bringing in players who he believes can run his system.
There are a few players I look forward to watching this season in black and gold. First up is Hunter Sansbury, who joined Wheeling after playing 11 games with Florida last season at the conclusion of four seasons at Sacred Heart University, the last two of which serving as captain of the team from the blue line. Up front, I want to see what new team captain Justin Taylor can do in a Wheeling uniform. Taylor is the ECHL’s all-time leader with 935 games played in the league in his 16 seasons to this point, so that experience should come in handy in teaching the younger players how to approach being a professional now. Finally, between the pipes, I want to see how Nolan Lalonde performs, especially if he’s going up against his former team from Toledo. Lalonde went 11-4-3 last year as a rookie in the league and has championship pedigree, as he won the Memorial Cup with the Saginaw Spirit in 2023-24.
The Nailers played two preseason games this year, losing both to Fort Wayne. What did you see in these games that you hope carries into the regular season?
While you never want to see your team lose consecutive games, both by identical 4-2 scores, to a divisional rival, at least these ones were in the preseason and don’t count towards anything. What these games were really good for was seeing how Coach Dicasmirro’s system would work in a game setting against a real opponent. And despite losing both games, there were definitely some positives to take away from the performances.
In the first game in Wheeling, the Nailers used the first two periods to get back into game shape. While the Komets did manage to score their four goals in those periods, the home team managed to shut them out from there as the teams played the third period, a practice overtime, and a practice shootout at the end of regulation, while managing to push the issue and score two goals of their own in the final frame of regulation, as well as winning the shootout with a goal by Dante Sheriff.
In the second game, Fort Wayne once again got themselves a lead early in the first, but Wheeling managed to shut it down from there and push the issue, scoring two goals of their own in the second period to head to the final period of regulation with a lead. The Nailers also managed to score one of their goals on the power play, so it gave them a chance to see how their man advantage group would fare. Unfortunately, the Komets came out firing in the third, earning three goals to come away with another (ultimately meaningless) victory to finish off the preseason and send both teams to games that actually matter.
The regular season kicks off on Friday, as the Nailers head to Indy to take on the Fuel. How can Wheeling make sure the 2026-27 season starts off on the right foot?
With the season kicking off with real games this weekend, it’s nice to see the Nailers starting things off with the team I personally consider to be their second biggest rival, after Toledo. Back in the 2023-24 season, the last one for Wheeling in the Central Division before returning for this year, Indy managed to barely edge out the Nailers for second in the division to earn home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Of course, that didn’t pay off for them, as Wheeling still managed to eliminate them in five games before getting swept out of the postseason by the Walleye in the next round.
I look at this game as a continuation of what the team began to show in their preseason games. I want to see the players working together as a five-man unit and pressing the issue. Coach Dicasmirro told us in an interview before the season that he wants his team to play with speed, play with the puck, and play physical hockey without going over the line too much. This is their first chance to show in a regular season game that they can play that way. While it would be nice to get a victory to start the new year, seeing growth and proof that the system works is what we need this early in the season for a team that only returned four players from last year’s squad.
Which games/opponents that are on the schedule for this season are you looking forward to being present for the most?
First off, before I get to answer the question above, I just want to say how much I am looking forward to bringing you On the Nail for my fifth season. When I first started writing this article for Lede News back during the 2022-23 season, I just wanted to have some fun sharing my knowledge of hockey, and I was hoping people enjoyed my thoughts. Now, as I begin this season, I hope you all still like what I’m doing, and I will continue to do it for you.
Back to our regularly scheduled content for this article. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t throw out the game I am looking forward to most on the schedule is the second game of the season, the home opener next Saturday against Toledo. What a welcome back to the division than beginning your home slate against the team you hate the most with a chance to put them in the hole early in divisional games.
The last time Wheeling was in the Central Division, Bloomington didn’t exist yet, and their inauguration is what ended up pushing the Nailers to the North Division. Now that we’re back, it would be nice to show the newcomers who truly runs the division and take advantage of those games against them. We will also get a chance to greet one of the two expansion teams in the league this year (unfortunately the New Mexico Goatheads will not be making the cross-country excursion this season) as the Trenton Ironhawks will come to the Friendly City four times this year and hopefully experience some unfriendly accommodation on the ice.
Finally, there are back-to-back weekends in January against unusual opponents, as Tulsa and Orlando both come to town. I always enjoy going to games featuring teams we don’t get to see often here in Wheeling, so I definitely look forward to getting down to Wesbanco Arena for those contests on top of as many others I can make it to. I hope you all give the schedule a review and start looking to book your tickets now, and I’ll see you at the rink.
