Now that the Nailers soon will have played 10 games, how are you feeling about the rest of the season?
It obviously doesn’t help that their two most recent games (both losses) happened to be against the team with which they’re essentially tied in the standings (Fort Wayne). They have also already played at least once against two of the three teams ahead of them in the standings and have not fared very well in those games (0-1 against Cincinnati and 1-2 against Toledo with the fourth game against them scheduled for Friday). That’s generally not a good omen for how the season will go.
The good news is that this is still a relatively small sample size, as they still have five more games scheduled against Cincinnati, 6 left against Toledo, and all 5 games scheduled against Indy remaining on the schedule. That’s 16 more chances against the teams currently sitting above them in the standings. Combine this with the games against teams they should beat (like Kalamazoo and Iowa) and of course there’s still a chance to move up in the standings.
The bad news is that the 10 games the Nailers have already played is more than every other team in their division, so they may need to get on their horse soon to not fall too far behind. I know this team has the skill to make a move, and there is obviously still plenty of time available to do that, but I think they will want to start making their push soon to avoid being left behind as we get deeper into the season.
Which players have impressed you the most so far this season and how important do you think it is they continue that play for the success of the team?
Multiple players have really shown me a lot so far this year that leaves me feeling optimistic for the rest of the year. On the front line, Carter Johnson has shown that his rookie performance in Wichita last year (45 points in 69 games played) was no fluke. He already has 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) and has shown a fantastic nose for the puck. His work on the penalty kill has been great and his ability to provide pressure on the forecheck has led to a lot of opportunities for himself and his linemates so far this year. I’ve also appreciated the play of Kalmikov (currently leading the team in points) as well as the Pare brothers (although I wish they would cut down on the penalty minutes a bit). I think they have shown what we should expect the rest of the way from them.
On the back end, the best player by a mile thus far has been Josh Maniscalco. While that’s another player that concerns me with penalty minutes, he has shown why the coaching staff trusts him to be out on the ice so much. He looks very composed skating with the puck and always has his head up, looking to advance the play. While the other defenders have had moments, I think Maniscalco will continue to differentiate himself from the rest as the best defenseman on the roster.
In goal, Taylor Gauthier has had a couple rough games but overall has proven that he’s the best option available back there. He has found ways to make tough saves when left out to dry by the guys in front of him and has been the best penalty killer on the team by far. While there’s always something to improve upon (I sometimes wonder about him handling the puck), he should continue to be the best option in the crease the rest of the way.
What improvements have you seen the team make so far this year and what areas is more work still needed to hopefully make the team better?
I’ve seen considerable improvement in the penalty kill, which has managed to improve by 5 percentage points overall in the last week alone. While I think they still sometimes overextend themselves in their pursuit of the puck, they’ve done a good job of cutting off passing lanes and allowing Gauthier a chance to make a save to show improvement in that area.
On the other hand, I still see a lot of issues in their passing game. Not many crisp passes, especially when trying to push the puck up ice, and those that get through aren’t played cleanly. Another big issue is with the power play (currently operating at only 13%), but I think that can also be attributed to their passing issues. If they could work on cleaning that up and retaining possession on their passing game, I feel like the team could make great strides in improving their power play and their record overall.
As the Nailers embark on their second road trip of the season (Toledo this evening and Indy on Sunday), considering they are 2-1 thus far in road games this year, what do you expect to see from the team during this trip?
Both teams the Nailers play during this weekend trip currently sit above them in the standings, so it would be very beneficial to find a way to earn points and limit their points, so regulation wins would be optimal. As I said before, they are currently 1-2 against Toledo so far this year (with that one win coming in overtime, giving Toledo one standings point even in the loss), so coming out hot and earning that regulation win becomes even more important there. This will be Wheeling’s first opportunity to face the Fuel on the ice this season, so there isn’t as much known about how they plan to play against the Nailers. They currently have 3 players sitting with more than 10 points already in the year, and both of their goalies have save percentages over 0.910, so getting pressure on their goal and putting one in the net quickly would help a lot. I’d love to see the team come home 2-0 from this trip, but I think an overtime loss wouldn’t hurt quite as bad, so having a 1-0-1 record from this would still be ok. Honestly, as long as they don’t have 2 regulation losses, I think things would be working well for the team.
The Nailers provide a lot of great promotions throughout the year. For what promotion they still have on the schedule are you most excited?
I always look at the promotional schedule before a season to get a feel for what a team plans to do and figure out if I want to go to any of those games to be a part of them. The annual Thanksgiving Eve game is always a fun one with the crowd, and they have the Sunday postgame skates and Frosty Fridays which everyone enjoys. On top of that, the Nailers have Wizards & Wands night coming up on January 14 (a Harry Potter themed night), Pups n Pucks on February 4, and Penguins night on February 11 which are very exciting.
However, my favorite promotion every single year is coming up on Saturday, December 3 against the Fort Wayne Comets. The Nailers will be celebrating Holidaypalooza and included in that is the teddy bear toss for charity. After the first Wheeling goal of the game, everyone in the crowd is encouraged to bring teddy bears (and other stuffed animals) to throw on the ice for donations for Christmas. I always love to watch those stuffed animals falling to the ice and am very happy that they are being donated for such a wonderful cause. I hope to see a lot of people there at that game throwing their bears on the ice!
