1. Apparently games against Norfolk are just what the doctor ordered, as the Nailers managed to win two of three against the Admirals in their own building, How do you think the Nailers can move forward from there and continue that success the rest of the way?
Obviously, having eight games in the second half of the season against the worst team in the entire ECHL is helpful, as the Nailers have managed to go 5-2-1 against the Admirals in their games this year. While it is obvious that it’s too little, too late for it to matter when it comes to helping them play in the postseason, winning games is still a good feeling for the boys on the ice, especially those who recently joined the team (with more to come on them shortly). Sitting at 25-31-5 after last weekend’s games, the Nailers will need to go 8-3 in their remaining games to get it back to .500 for the season, which I think should be the goal with where they currently are.
This all starts this weekend with three home games, Friday against a Kalamazoo team that currently sits directly behind Wheeling in the Central division standings (who practically need to win out the remainder of the season themselves to get back to .500), followed by back to back tilts with Reading on Saturday and Sunday. Those games against the Royals stand to be difficult games, with Reading currently sitting in second place in the North division, with a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs this weekend. I’ve always thought a team with nothing to play for but pride can be dangerous for a team like that at a time like this. They might be looking past these games, or not thinking of Wheeling as competition, which could cause them to slip and allow the Nailers to give them problems. It also helps that the Nailers have faced them six times already this year, accumulating a 4-2 record against the Royals. This could be a situation where Reading, no matter how good they are, have trouble with a specific team on their schedule, which could work out in Wheeling’s favor.
Beyond that, the Nailers still have four games left on the schedule with Iowa, which could be a blessing and a curse. The Heartlanders are tied with Tulsa in points to be the second worst team in the entire ECHL, but have three less wins on the season than the Oilers, so could still be seen as the inferior team. That being said, Wheeling has had considerable struggles with Iowa this season, going 2-4 so far this year against them. That simply won’t cut it, and definitely contributes to the reasons for Wheeling to miss the postseason. While the Nailers have some very tough opposition coming down the stretch, improving their record against Iowa would definitely make getting back to .500 for the season a more feasible goal.
2. Three teams in the Central division (Cincinnati, Toledo, and Indy) have already clinched spots in the playoffs for this season. The Nailers are a combined 8-13-2 against those teams on this season, with three games left against them. How big of a role do you think this played on Wheeling not making the postseason themselves?
Having a winning record for the season against teams you face that many times is imperative to having a chance to see postseason action. The best the Nailers have done this season thus far against a divisional opponent is 2-2-2 against Kalamazoo, who are also outside the playoff picture. As I said before, Wheeling sits 2-4 against the worst in the division as well, which will absolutely destroy any chances your team has. However, those teams are at the top for a reason, so it isn’t a total surprise to have a bad record when they’re involved, but when you hope to play deeper into April or into May, those performances will prevent that from happening.
While their records against those teams aren’t good, the worst of them all is the Nailers record against Ft. Wayne, the team they’re directly behind in the standings for that fourth and final playoff spot. Wheeling has managed to go 3-7 against the Komets this season, with one game left on the schedule against them on April 8th in Wheeling for the last home game of the season. This has to be seen as completely unacceptable for a team with aspirations. While it wouldn’t have been enough to push Wheeling ahead of them, finding a way to be closer to .500 against the team you were in a dogfight with up until about two weeks ago could have definitely changed the course this team took coming down the stretch. If the Nailers had managed to be 5-5 against them, they would currently sit three points behind Ft. Wayne at this point, rather than the 11 they currently are. Every game against the team you are chasing has the potential to be a four point swing, if you gain two points and keep them from getting those points. At that point, Wheeling would be right in the thick of the chase, and we’d be discussing completely different things right now. Unfortunately, they just didn’t have it in them this season to perform how they needed to in order to make it into the playoffs.
3. The Nailers have managed to bring in a number of younger players this week, with Canadian and US college seasons coming to an end for multiple teams. Who has stood out to you so far of these young guns that you hope the team is able to give a chance to next season?
While the American men’s collegiate hockey tournament got started today (little fourth wall breaking, I’m sitting here watching Cornell and Denver right now as I write this), only 16 teams get into that tournament, meaning players not on any of those teams who are leaving the college system and don’t have contracts already are eligible to sign on with professional teams and start getting that experience. This has actually worked out well for the Nailers, as they’ve managed to bring in a few players who were playing collegiate hockey as of a week ago, as well as one who was playing for a college in Canada. Of those players, three (Ross Krieger, Jarrett Lee, and Matt Koopman) have already found their way into the lineup and have found ways to contribute to this team, which is impressive for a young man to make his first appearance as a professional and begin putting up numbers for his new team that quickly.
Of the ones who have already found their way into the lineup, I would say I’ve been most impressed with Krieger so far. Through five games played, Krieger has managed to find the back of the net twice already, adding an assist as well to have three points so far in his professional career. He’s shown that he isn’t afraid to shoot the puck, averaging two shots on net per game, but the one downside I see on him is he has a -3 on the plus/minus already. While it’s hard to say if that’s on him so far, being on the ice for that many more goals against at even strength compared to what’s being scored by your team isn’t where you want to be. Maybe coming down harder in the defensive zone to help out when teams overload down low or giving better options for breakout passes would be helpful, but it’s definitely nice to see someone working on the offensive zone to create chances.
That being said, the others have found a way to work their games into helping out this team as well, with Lee already recording three assists in three games played, and Koopman earning an assist for himself also in three games. The other two players who were brought in but haven’t had a chance to appear in a game yet are Tanner Laderoute from Minnesota-Duluth, who managed to earn seven points in 37 games in a tough conference, after having a 10 goal season last season, as well as Jordan Wishman, a defenseman joining the Nailers from Niagara University, a player who isn’t afraid to throw the body but still managed to be a plus player (+5) this season. I am hopeful that these guys are also able to get into the lineup and contribute, and I’d love to see these guys back in Wheeling next season for their first full professional year.
Also, just for full disclosure, while the smart money is most likely on Minnesota to win it all in the NCAA tournament this season as the overall number one seed, I would advise not to overlook Denver. They’re the overall number four seed as well as the defending champion and returned a good amount of their roster from last year, so don’t sleep on them this season either.
4. As we get closer to the end of the season, with most teams having between 10 and 12 games left on the year, most of the playoff positions haven’t been decided yet (outside of the Central division, of course). Assuming the current standings hold, what do you think we’ll see in the ECHL playoffs this year?
Having three teams in the Nailers own division clinch their spot in the postseason is rather surprising, considering that only two teams outside of the Central (Newfoundland in the North and Idaho in the Mountain) have already earned their spot. Things are even more up in the air in the South division, where no teams have clinched a spot yet and the difference between first place and first out of the playoffs is only seven standings points. South Carolina leads that division with 77 points, but Florida, Jacksonville, and Greenville all sit on 76 points, with the Everblades having a game in hand, so there’s absolutely no telling what is going to happen over the next few weeks in that division. Trying to predict what will happen there feels almost impossible, but if the current standings hold, I think Florida has the best chances of moving on, as they have a winning record against the other three playoff teams currently.
As for the other divisions, the other one I’m most interested in is the North. While Newfoundland has already clinched a spot, both Reading and Maine are very much in the hunt to come out of there. The Growlers have good records on the season against both of those teams (7-3 against the Mariners and 5-2-1 against the Royals), but both of those other teams have been rather strong down the stretch, and I would expect it to continue into the postseason. While the Growlers still have the best chance of coming out of that division, I wouldn’t discount those other two teams giving them issues, whichever one comes out of their series.
The other two divisions aren’t quite as close, where the Central will most likely come down to Cincinnati and Toledo, while the Walleye now don’t have a regulation loss in their last 20 games, going 19-0-0-1. If they continue to play that strong, it’s going to be difficult to do much about them even as the pressure turns up. The Mountain division is even less competitive than that, where Idaho is now almost 40 standings points clear of the second place team behind them and have already managed to clinch the division (and almost the entire league). If one of the other teams in that division finds a way to come out of it, it’ll absolutely shock me, but crazier things have happened, so that’s why you play the games.
5. Looking back over the season, the Nailers have had a LOT of fun promotions thus far, with the Hall of Fame game still to come on Friday. Which promotion that they had this year do you hope they find a way to bring back and maybe even enhance for next season?
The Nailers had a wonderful season in finding ways to make their games fun for everyone in attendance, as well as some very impressive giveaways throughout the year. They still have the really nice Hall of Fame night on Friday this week (if you want to know what I think about that, go find my article from last week if you missed it), as well as an always exciting Fan Appreciation Night scheduled for the last home game of the year, with jersey auctions and random gift card/prize giveaways throughout the night. It’s always fun when the team is giving things to the fans in attendance like that. I really think the best promotion the Nailers had all season was the Wizards and Wands night back in January. Aside from having a full house that they separated into the different houses, the wand giveaway was a really quality item. I’m actually sitting here looking at mine right now, and I’m still impressed with how nice it is. I would love to see them continue this promotion next season with a second Wizards and Wands night. It’s hard to think of a way to improve on what they were able to do with that promotion this season already, as it was a very exciting event already, but I think if they can find a way to emphasize the “house” aspect of the different sections and make it a competition between them, it would be really fun. Also, if they don’t want to do a wand again like this year, they could give away replica flying brooms or robes. Maybe even separate out the robes by house, with the accent colors associated with each house, and you get the one that matches your section you’re sitting in. But that’s for them to decide for next year. I personally look forward to seeing what they come up with.
