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WHEELING - Despite being hired in mid-July, Wheeling Nailers first-year head coach Nick DiCasmirro didn't arrive in the Friendly City involved about a week ago. However, that doesn't mean he hasn't been working.
The Nailers have signed 22 players so far this off-season, one in which the franchise has undergone a complete makeover from the top down.
"I pulled into Wheeling four or five days ago. I'm getting settled. I found my apartment. I'm getting settled in," DiCasmiro said. "I've driven everywhere. I've been to Bethlehem. I've been to the Oglebay Park area. It's nice.
"There's lots of nature," he added. "I'm from Minnesota, but the trees here are everywhere, along with the rolling hills. So far it's been enjoyable."
One of his first moves was to assemble a coaching staff. He did so by hiring Jason Payne as the Associated Head Coach and Peter Laviolette III as the Assistant Coach.
"I wanted to make sure our (coaching) staff is thinking alike. We bounce just about every player off of each other and try to have each player serve a purpose. We're starting to build the puzzle. Obviously, we're starting with a new affiliate in Columbus (NHL) and Cleveland (AHL)," he said. "There may be a few more pieces to the puzzle than in years past, but we've done a great job of working together as a staff to put those pieces in place.
"Now I'm excited for (training) camp to start to see how all of this works out," he continued. "We'll see where certain players go and who they play with and we plan to put together a good product on the ice for the Nailers fans."
Support From Above
DiCasmirro said he has been in touch with Columbus Blue Jackets Assistant General Manager and Cleveland Monsters General Manager Chris Clark quite a bit since he was hired. He has also been in touch with Cleveland head coach Nick Bootland.
"Chris has been great. We've got a few players signed and a couple of others that we are talking to. The support has been great as far as bouncing ideas off of each other. We might have a couple of players going to AHL camps if everything works out. It's been great working with them (the Blue Jackets) so far.
"I've talked to Chris a lot over the years, but I've known Nick for quite some time. Smooth sailing so far."
Goaltending Should Be Strong
Of the 22 players signed, two are goaltenders who DiCasmirro is high on.
"We have two goaltenders under contract. I'm really happy with our backend and that's where you want to start," he stressed. "We've been very fortunate with the two guys we've been able to sign. Kasimir (Kaskisco) brings some experience and Philip (Svedeback) is coming out of college and was selected by the Boston Bruins back in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Creating A Roster Is Like Building A Puzzle
"We've got a mixture of size on the back end with some skill and the same thing with our forwards, some speed, skill, grinding like you need, so we want to put these pieces together like a machine ... a cog where you can roll out one line after another ... boom, boom boom," DiCasmirro added. "Not every player is going to have their best every night, so having those next guys step in is what we are looking for and trying to put together. We are confident that whoever goes over the boards is going to get the job done and that we aren't relying on just one or two players to carry us."
Knowledge Of The ECHL
DiCasmirro spent most of his career in the AHL where he played 401 regular-season games and 70 playoff encounters. He also logged 169 regular-season contests in Italy, while skating in 47 playoff matchups.
"Obviously, I've spent a lot of time in the AHL as a player and a little as a coach, but the ECHL is more of a developmental league. I just saw something where Wheeling has put more players into the NHL than any other ECHL team," he said. "It's a fast league. It's a skill league. It's a young league. Guys are coming to the rink hungry every day trying to get batter and to that next level. It all starts here.
WesBanco Arena
DiCasmirro took a tour of the Nailers home rink earlier in the week. He liked what he saw.
"I love being back in North America. The rinks are different between Europe and North America," he noted. "It's just the way they are built for whatever reason. The rinks in Europe all have their own design and style, but in North America they have the bowl seating and the concourse levels."
Training Camp
Players will start to arrive on Oct. 1, with the one-week camp starting two days later.
"We are going to have two teams in camp with 3-4 lines and 5-6 defense," he explained. "We will have two ice times, as well. I want to create some competition."
He said intrasquad scrimmages are planned during the week.
The Nailers will play a pair of home-and-home exhibition games against the Fort Wayne Komets at WesBanco Arena on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:10 p.m. Two days later, the Nailers will travel to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for a 5 p.m. faceoff.