The Wheeling Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins], are looking for a new head coach. Derek Army, who had been with the Nailers for five seasons, left the team [https://wheelingnailers.com/news/2025/07/derek-army-named-assistant-coach-of-colorado-eagles] to be an assistant coach with the AHL's Colorado Eagles. He joined the Nailers as an assistant coach before the 2020-21 season began, and was subsequently promoted to interim head coach in April of 2021. After that, he got the full-time head-coaching gig and was with the Nailers until Monday. Army is the winningest coach in Nailers history, finishing with a record of 153-137-19. He got the Nailers to the playoffs three times and helped them win 43 games this past season. After Army took the job with the Eagles, the Penguins released a statement, thanking him for his contributions to the Nailers. "The Penguins organization would like to congratulate Derek on the next step of his career and thank him for all of his contributions over the last five seasons in Wheeling. Derek did a tremendous job in helping to create a winning culture, while consistently preparing talent for the next level, and we wish him all the best with the Colorado Eagles," the statement read [https://x.com/penguins/status/1944887589514666390]. Army will be an assistant on Mark Letestu's staff after he was named the head coach of the Colorado Eagles on July 5. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwquDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more! Featured Image Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
