WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, have announced in conjunction with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, that Derek Army has been named as an assistant coach for the Colorado Eagles.
Army, 34, departs Wheeling as the team’s all-time winningest head coach, which is a record he achieved this past season. Derek joined the Nailers hockey staff as an assistant coach at the start of the 2020-21 season, and was then promoted to interim head coach and eventually the permanent head coach later that year. Army’s teams compiled an overall record of 153-137-19 in 309 games, and reached the playoffs on three occasions. The club’s best regular season under his guidance came during 2024-25, when the Nailers finished in second place in the North Division with a 43-25-4 mark, which was good for 90 points.
In Colorado, Army will work under fellow former Nailer Mark Letestu (2007-08), who was named the head coach of the Eagles last week. Derek is the sixth Wheeling head coach to immediately join the AHL coaching ranks, as he joins Tom McVie, Peter Laviolette, Pat Bingham, Stan Drulia, and Clark Donatelli.
The search for the 21st head coach in Wheeling history begins immediately.
