After spending parts of five seasons playing in Wheeling, serving as captain in his final season, Derek Army is now in his second season behind the bench as the Nailers' head coach.
Army, 30, was hired as an assistant coach last season, and took over midseason when then-head coach Mark French left the team in April.
Army's Nailers currently sit tied for fourth in the ECHL's Central Division with an 8-6 record.
Jordan DeFigio, Jenna Harner and I had Army on this week's episode of Podcast on Fifth Ave to talk about the Nailers' season, his role, his memories of being linemates with Brandon Tanev in college, and some prospects who have spent time in Wheeling this season. He joins in the second segment the episode, which can be heard in full here:
Here is the transcript of the portion of the interview about some specific prospects:
Haase: "You've had a lot more guys who have had AHL experience our NHL draft picks this season. Wednesday, (forward Justin) Almeida and (defenseman Will) Reilly just got called back up. In Almeida's short time down there, just what were your impressions of him? I mean, he had that four-goal game right before he got called up. What have you seen from him?"
Army: "For him, this is his third year now (in the organization). And I think he's still trying to kind of find himself as a pro. You look at a lot of the college guys who come out of there, they're already coming out of college at 23 at the earliest of ages to 26. So they're hitting their prime, whereas a guy like him, he's 22 now. There's still maturing to do for him as a person and as a player. I think every organization would love to say, 'Hey, it's a rush, let's rush him.' But it takes time. For him, he's really getting his confidence. And I think it was good this time to come down, and these past two times, he's really been able to play hockey, and I think get back to what he loves, and have fun playing hockey and see what works for him. He's really taken to it. We've had him with some good players, and he's kind of just gotten that 'I've gotten to play again.' And maybe that's something that gives a guy confidence in the American League level. You see the same thing with a guy like Will Reilly who came down, is playing penalty kill, power play and maybe not the same minutes he's playing at Wilkes Barre, but it's important for his development. (Pittsburgh) wants to see him grow and develop as a player. It's very important for him."
Haase: "A guy who is still down there, (defenseman) Josh Maniscalco, he's not someone we really got to see a whole lot in Wilkes-Barre, he really just spent last season practicing. Now, he's actually gotten to play some games. What have been your impressions of him in his season?"
Army: "He's very skilled. He's a smart hockey player. He's a good power play guy. You know, his knock, maybe was the defensive side of his game needed to improve. As much as practice does, you can only improve in the game. And for us we've got him killing big penalties. We've got him playing five-on-six. And I think you're starting to see it, his improvement. We spend a lot of time on video, and he gets to see okay, 'This is what I have to do differently.' It's here that he's going to be able to try things or just experience things so that when he gets Wilkes-Barre, 'He's like okay, now I've seen this before, I can play in the situation, be confident, in this situation,' and then from there hopefully take off."
Haase: (Goaltender) Alex D'Orio, he did just get the call up to Wilkes-Barre too. I mean, he finished the season last year really as Wilkes-Barre's starter, and then he does get sent down to Wheeling to start. Obviously, he probably would have liked to be in Wilkes-Barre. What were your impressions of how we handled that, and just what did you see from him before he got this call up?"
Army: "I think a lot of a goalie's aspect is confidence, how they're feeling, if they're feeling good, if they're feeling down. Fortunately for us, Pittsburgh I think has really put an investment into goaltending. We have Charles Grant, who's our goalie coach at our level. They spend a lot of time with every goalie in a sense of making sure they're a prospect. You saw it with Casey DeSmith (starting in Wheeling), no one's out of the realm of possibility of being a Penguin. For Alex, I think he was disappointed to come down. And unfortunately, he had a spur of things. He had an ear infection in Wilkes camp, he got sick, he got the flu before his first start here, he had some bumps and bruises along the way. So now all of a sudden, he's looking at his game, like, 'I'm behind the eight ball.' Thankfully, we had Chuck Grant to work with him. Then from my aspect is 'Hey, I believe in you.' As a coach, that's all you have is, "Take the net, and I believe in you." And I think guys on the team really took to him, because he started to feel confident, he started to feel good. He had a few really good games. I think he was happy, and I think he was excited obviously to go up, but one now where he knows 'Okay, I'm happy with my game. I'm happy to go up and now it's my turn to maybe take the net.'"
Haase: "You mentioned mentioned Casey DeSmith, when you played in Wheeling, was that Casey's first year? He was the third goalie (in Wheeling) behind (Brian) Foster and Franky (Palazzese). He didn't get in a game until that December. Are you able to use that as an example of how, just because it's not going the way you want in Wheeling, you're not out of it?"
Army: "Yeah. For me, I've seen a few different cases, guys like that. For (DeSmith), he was our third goalie. He was a guy who you could tell there was some potential, andthey worked with him, but I don't think anyone had any expectations that he's going to be in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization for a few years. So it was one that I think I use, especially for goalies, is you may think you're down and out. You know, you look at Scott Darling, who was a Wheeling Nailer. You just never know when your break is coming. That was my message to (D'Orio) when he came down. Maybe your time, maybe it's next year, maybe it's in a few years, but you have to be prepared for that time. You prep for that next opportunity and open that door for the next opportunity. That's something he's maybe taken pride in, and I think goalies especially in this organization take pride in, this 'Hey, I could be the next Casey DeSmith.'"
Haase: "Another player want to ask about, (forward) Shaw Boomhower. Not a guy on an NHL contract, but I know someone that Penguins fans were excited about from development camp, really just because of his name, probably the coolest name in the organization. What can you tell us about him as a player?"
Army: "I will specify right off the hop, great name, absolutely perfect for a guy who's leading the ECHL in fights and in penalty minutes. He's a guy who for us is a great teammate. Last year he took a year off, but he's a guy similar to like Almeida, he's a '98 birth year. So there's a lot of potential there for him. He's got to get his puck touches, he's got to get his play time and get his reps up. But I think he's a guy who can really skate. He's big, he's physical. He's not tall, but he's big. He's got a frame to him. He plays hard. He goes to the net. That's a guy who I think you just never know what the ceiling is. As he continues to develop, he's going to have to learn how to kill penalties and play a kind of a shutdown role. But he's a guy who he's playing a lot here. It's probably great for his development. You can't teach toughness today. And he's a guy who you don't have to teach that to. So if that opportunity comes, which I think it will over the next few years, I think he's a great investment for this organization."
Haase: "Last player I want to ask about is (forward) Kasper Bjorkqvist. Not someone you've coached, but someone you're familiar with, just because of that Providence College connection. I know you're a fan of his game. What do you like about him?
Army: "He's a guy who I didn't know him before going to Providence, but he's a guy who learned, it's very structured at PC. It's very systematic. So he's a guy I think, could plug in, in any role. He could be a top line guy, he could be a fourth line in Pittsburgh, and you would know exactly what you're going to get from him. He's going to be hard on pucks, he's going to be strong on pucks. He's going to go to the net. He's going to be good on the forecheck. He's going to be detailed. And some of the aspects you can't teach guys, he has. He's big, he's a big strong kid. You've seen some of the guys like a (Tom) Kuhnhackl or a (Carter) Rowney, or some of these guys to come through who have been really consistent players and know the system. He's a guy who fits that that build of a guy you can plug and play anywhere."
