Former Nailers captain and fan favorite Derek Army is back in Wheeling.
This time, though, Army will be behind the bench.
The Nailers named Army an assistant coach on Friday, joining new head coach Mark French behind the bench in Wheeling.
French said on Friday that there "was only one real candidate" in the hiring process for his assistant, and it was Army.
"Derek is really respected in both organizations," French told me. "I was talking to Pittsburgh and (Nailers governor) Don Rigby down in Wheeling, and Derek's name was brought up immediately by both the Penguins and Wheeling as a candidate. In hockey circles certainly it's a small world. I knew about Derek, I knew about his reputation. Pittsburgh and the people in Wheeling were very up front that it was always my decision, and I had to have a comfort level, but they felt through their experiences with Derek that he would be a really good candidate. For me, it was a short process. We think about things the same way, which I think is really important. At the same time, our paths are a lot different, which I also think is really important. We don't want to be the same person and come at things the same way."
Speaking with the media on Friday, Army said he was happy to be back in his "second home."
"I'm just excited to be back in Wheeling," Army said. "As a player, I developed a lot there, I was able to make it sort of a second home. The fans took me in from the start. I met some of my best friends there, I had a great time there. My wife and I had fun down there. For me, getting into coaching has always been what I wanted to do."
Army, 29, signed with the Nailers after graduating from Providence College in 2014, and played parts of the next four seasons in Wheeling, including the 2016 run to the Kelly Cup Final. When he returned to Wheeling in 2018 after a stint in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals, he was named captain.
Army retired from professional hockey in 2018, and was an assistant coach for the ECHL's Worcester Railers for the 2018-19 season. Army, along with the head coach and general manager in Worcester, was relieved of his duties by the Railers in November 2019.
Army's stint in Worcester was short, but he said Friday that he learned a lot from the experience.
"(Worcester coach Jamie Russell) gave me a lot of room to grow as a coach," he said. "He let me run meetings, some pregame meetings. Right away I was kind of thrown into the fire, you don't have time to be uncomfortable. ... Not being afraid to approach a room of guys or run a PK meeting, or just run a drill."
Army's father, Tim, has been a coach for various teams in the NCAA, AHL, and NHL since 1987. He is currently head coach of the Iowa Wild in the AHL. Army told me that he's been able to turn to his father for advice since turning to coaching.
"Growing up with my dad as the coach has been huge," Army told me. "He's been a mentor for me. I've learned the ins and outs, even when I was eight years old I was able to have an inside look at the locker room. For me, I've learned a lot. The biggest takeaway I had from him is as an assistant coach, how you're able to handle things with the head coach and the relationship you're able to build. You may have slight disagreements regarding something, you can voice your opinion, and that stays in the coaching room. From there you are the voice of the head coach. I take a lot of pride in learning that from my dad."
French was announced as the Nailers' new head coach earlier this month, replacing Mike Bavis, who was head coach for the last two seasons and did not have his contract renewed this offseason.
French was most recently head coach of HC Fribourg-Gottéron in Switzerland from 2017 until October 2019. His notable previous stops include three years as head coach of the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL, one year as head coach of Medvescak Zagreb in the KHL, and five and a half seasons as with the Hershey Bears in the AHL.
French was a two-time Calder Cup champion with the Bears, first as an assistant coach in 2008-09, and again as head coach in 2009-10. In French’s first season as head coach in Hershey, the Bears set an AHL record for most wins in a single season, posting a record of 60-17-3.
"When I spoke with (French), right away, I could tell he had an incredible resume," Army said. "He's had an incredible run everywhere he's been. He's won everywhere he's been. For me, developing as a young coach, as a young person, I look forward to working with him and learning a lot from him.
