Photo: Wheeling Nailers
Washington Capitals head coach and former Wheeling Nailers Head (ECHL) Coach Peter Laviolette and former Thunderbirds Captain Brock Woods became the 11th and 12th members of the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame on Friday night.
Laviolette had his first head coaching Job with the Nailers during the 1997-98 season, before returning to the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Laviolette’s won, Peter, currently plays for the Nailers.
“I was player-assistant coach (with the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins),” Laviolette said following his current team’s morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. “The head coaching job became available. I didn’t get interviewed for that. After being player-assistant coach, I knew I wanted to be a head coach. I talked to my wife (Kristen) and we thought that the opportunity might come dropping down a level. So, we put a resume out to a couple of places and Wheeling was the first one that called. Went down there with new ownership and no (NHL or AHL) affiliates. Interviewed and ended up getting hired. That’s how I got there in Wheeling to start my career.”
Congratulations to tonight’s Wheeling #Nailers Hall of Fame Inductees! Well deserved! 👏 pic.twitter.com/n9NKu1BOhH
— Wheeling Nailers (@WheelingNailers) March 24, 2023
In his sole season in Wheeling, Laviolette, who also was the team’s director of hockey operations, took the Nailers to a 37-24-9 record and 83 points as well as an appearance in the Northern Conference semifinal (i.e. third round) series which remains one of the deepest postseason runs in franchise history.
“You learn everything,” Laviolette said. “It’s not like you have a blueprint for systems and you know exactly what you want to do. It’s not like you know how to handle every situation that pops up. You’re the (director of hockey operations) as well which means you make the trades, you cut people, you hire people. There’s a lot of responsibility that goes with that. I was learning as I went. But when the year is over, you look back and you say that was a really meaningful year with all you’re able to learn and all you’re able to do to try to become a better coach. It was a great place for a young coach to start.”