Hockey Operations

Ryan Papaioannou was named Head Coach of the Wheeling Nailers on August 14, 2025.

Papaioannou, 41, served as the head coach and general manager of the Brooks Bandits for the past 16 seasons, and enjoyed outstanding success, as the team played in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the British Columbia Hockey League. Under Ryan's leadership, the Bandits captured seven AJHL Championships (2011-12, 2012-13, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2021-22, 2022-23), one BCHL Championship (2024-25), four Centennial/RBC Cup Championships (2012-13, 2018-19, 2021-22, 2022-23) as the national champion of Junior "A," a Western Canada Cup (2016-17) as the Junior "A" champion from western Canada, and a Rocky Mountain Challenge (2023-24) as the champion of Alberta.

The Calgary, Alberta native posted a remarkable record of 907-217-48 in 1,172 career games as the head coach of the Bandits. Those numbers equate to a .774 winning percentage and a .794 points percentage. Brooks earned at least 50 wins in a season six times, topped by a 57-3-0 mark during the 2018-19 campaign. That year, Papaioannou's Bandits finished the regular season with a 33-game winning streak. The team followed that up by starting the 2019-20 regular season with 22 straight victories, which created a 55-game regular season winning streak between the two years. The 2018-19 season was one of three times that Ryan was recognized as AJHL Coach of the Year, as he also earned that honor in 2012-13 and 2021-22.

Ryan will be moving to Wheeling with his family. He and his wife Jordana have two sons - ten-year old Ambrose and five-year old Calix.

Mitch Giguere was named Assistant Coach of the Wheeling Nailers on August 24, 2023.

Giguere, 37, has held a wide variety of roles in hockey over the past decade, as he has served as a coach, general manager, scout, and team consultant. Mitch began his coaching journey in 2008 when his playing career ended, and has since advanced to coach in prestigious leagues such as the Kontinental Hockey League, the Québec Major Junior Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. One of his greatest accomplishments came in 2021-22, when he returned to North America with Longueuil Collège-Français and won the Napa Cup as a QJHL Champion. Giguere also earned a certified Canadian Sport Institute Advanced Coaching Diploma, which took two years of studying to achieve.

In addition to the team successes he has enjoyed, the Montréal, Québec native has also played a large role in developing players, and seeing those players reach the highest levels of professional hockey. One of the most recent players Mitch coached was Pittsburgh Penguins 2022 first round draft pick Owen Pickering, when Pickering was an Elite 15 at RINK Hockey Academy, with fellow NHL draft picks Daimon Gardner and Josh Filmon. Giguere has also had the opportunity to coach current Penguin Sam Poulin, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard of the Montréal Canadiens, and Edmonton Oilers prospect Olivier Rodrigue. Hockey Québec is another organization that Mitch has been heavily involved with, and that led to him working with Stanley Cup Champion Samuel Girard and Los Angeles Kings forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Mitch and his wife Audrey live in St. Clairsville, Ohio with their four children - daughters Maxim (15), Alexe (13), and Leoni (7), and son Louis (5).

Karel Popper was named as Goaltending Coach of the Nailers on August 19, 2024.

Prior to joining the Nailers, Popper spent three seasons as an Assistant Coach for the Chicago Steel of the USHL. The Steel finished in the top-two in the USHL for overall record twice, and they qualified for the playoffs all three seasons Popper was with the club. The Mainville, Ohio native also served as the Men’s and Women’s Goaltending Coach at the University of Minnesota (2018-21) and as the Assistant Coach of Ohio State Women’s team in 2016-17.

Bill Higgins grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he was an avid fan of the Thunderbirds and Nailers. A graduate of Wheeling Park High School, Higgins began his career with the Nailers as an assistant equipment manager, before being promoted to the head role in 2003. Bill is the only member of the organization to ever work 1,000 games, as he reached that milestone during the 2016-17 season. He will work his 1,500th game on November 2nd. Other notable career accomplishments for Higgins include working the 2007 ECHL All-Star Classic in Boise, Idaho, and being named the 2013-14 ECHL Equipment Manager of the Year. 2024-25 will be Higgins' 22nd season as the team's equipment manager.

Cole Koontz was named Athletic Trainer of the Nailers on August 19, 2025.

Prior to being named to the role as the head athletic trainer, Koontz spent three seasons with the organization, as he worked as a student athletic trainer in 2021-22, then served as an assistant athletic trainer from 2023-25.

Cole's path to the Nailers was created through his studies, as he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Athletic Training from West Liberty University. He worked with six different teams for the Hilltoppers, including the men's basketball team, which won two MEC Championships at WesBanco Arena.

Koontz furthered his education by studying Physical Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. Cole gained valuable experience through the university, thanks to a 15-week clinical with the Providence Bruins, which gave him the opportunity to work an NHL preseason game in Boston.

A native of Sherrard, West Virginia, Koontz is the third Ohio Valley native to become Wheeling's athletic trainer, following current West Liberty University Professor Dr. David Hanna and current Iowa Wild Athletic Trainer Daniel Barker.