From Nailer To Coach: Peter Laviolette Returns To Wheeling

For Peter Laviolette, Wheeling has always been more than a hockey town. It's a town that he calls home.

Laviolette began his professional hockey career in Wheeling. He was a physical presence and became a familiar face throughout the community. Now he is returning to his home base, but in a different role.

On Tuesday, August 11th, the Nailers announced that Laviolette has been named the Assistant Coach. He will serve behind the bench alongside Head Coach Nate DiCasmirro and Associate Coach Jason Payne. This gives the Wheeling native his first coaching opportunity post-retirement and brings him full circle in his hockey journey. 

Laviolette's connection to the Nailers began before he ever put on a Nailers sweater. His father, Head Coach of the Los Angeles Kings, Peter Laviolette, began his coaching career during the 1997-1998 season with Wheeling. Laviolette steered the Nailers to a 37-24-9 record with a deep playoff run before heading off to the Providence Bruins, where he earned a Calder Cup the next season and was named AHL Coach of the Year.

Laviolette was born in Wheeling in December of 1997, while his father was coaching the Nailers. The day he was born, the team defeated the Dayton Bombers, 6-5. While the responsibility and circumstances differ nearly 30 years later, the setting remains the same. 

Laviolette signed his first pro contract after his collegiate career was finished in 2022 with Plymouth State University. Making the jump from college hockey to professional hockey isn't the easiest transition. 

During his college career, he spent five seasons with Plymouth and finished with 35 goals and 32 assists in 105 games. He played a part in three MASCAC championship teams and four regular-season championship teams. 

In his time with the Nailers, his role was not defined by scoring, but by competing. He recorded 28 points with 292 penalty minutes in 110 ECHL games with Wheeling. He was a voice in the locker room and became the Nailers' community presence. Laviolette won back-to-back Project Best Community Player of the Year Awards in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons. During the 2025-2026 season, Laviolette played for the Orlando Solar Bears, dressing in 17 games with one goal and one assist. He was then traded to the Savannah Ghost Pirates and played 12 regular-season games with one goal scored.  

Having that accolade, along with professional game experience, will help carve a path for the players he will be coaching. 

Even though his last name is popular in the hockey community, his story is not about trying to become his father. There is also an unavoidable element to Laviolette's story: his last name. It's about becoming his own person and coach.

He spent the time developing an identity as a player and with going behind the bench, he can take those lessons and begin developing his own coaching style. It is a meaningful opportunity that is in his family's history.

This chapter is the beginning of something that completely belongs to Laviolette and represents something bigger in the franchise's history.