Nailers Announce Opening Day Roster
October 10, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
WHEELING, WV â The Wheeling Nailers announce their opening day roster for the 2002-2003 season. Head Coach John Brophy has reduced the amount of players on the Nailers roster to 20. The list includes six players that return from last season's team.
One returning player is last year's captain Mark Major. Major will have a more significant role with the organization this season. This season Major will be player/assistant coach. For his second season with the Nailers he will help Brophy with some of the coaching duties when off the ice. Joining Major from last season are J.P. Soucy, Dmitri Doulebenets, Derek Ernest, Arpad Mihaly and David Vychodil.
"Major is a veteran player and a leader for our team and will also help out in the office with some of the coaching duties," said Brophy. "Soucy will also be an important part of our team in a leadership role. This will be the third season for him with the Nailers. With Ernest we will carry over some of the physical aspect of last seasons team. Doulebenets and Vychodil will be expected to improve on last season's play now that they have been in this league for a full season."
Some of the new faces that will play important roles for the Nailers this season are goaltenders David Chant and Mike Valley, defensemen Ryan Gillis, Mario LaRocque and T.J. Reynolds. New Nailers forwards include Brian Cummings, Zenon Konopka and Chris McNamara.
"With the goaltenders and defensemen that we have added for this season, I see no reason why we won't have the best in both of those areas this season," stated Brophy. "The guys up front will give our team more scoring than we had last year. We will have a younger team than last season but we may be more talented. I like the team we have assembled." Concluded Brophy.
The Nailers first home game is Sunday, October 13 at 6:30p.m. against the Cincinnati Cyclones. The game will be broadcast live on WTOV-9 as well as 95.7 WEEL-FM. Before the game there will be a special presentation to honor John Brophy for his 1000th professional victory. Members of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the East Coast Hockey League and the Hockey Hall of Fame will be on hand for the ceremony. For ticket information call the Nailers at 234-4625 or toll free at 1-877-NAIL-TIX.
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