Broncos head coach shares his thoughts on first-year centreback’s potential
Be it the NCAA or the CPL, it doesn’t take long for Daniel Nimick to make an impression.
In his first campaign with the Halifax Wanderers, the Labrador-born but England-raised centreback has proven a steady option for head coach Patrice Gheisar. He’s been in the starting XI for all three league games and the CanChamp match against Atlético Ottawa, showcasing a mixture of decisiveness, pace and composure.
In other words, he’s been a coach’s dream.
“Dan’s been a revelation,” said Gheisar after training Wednesday at Dalhousie University’s Wickwire Field. “I can’t say I’m surprised about his productivity but he brings leadership at his young age. He’s got toughness, size, with a real combination of composure on the ball.”
Nothing about Nimick’s strong start is a surprise to his former head coach, Chad Wiseman, who worked with him for all four of his years with the Western Michigan Broncos in the NCAA. He said Nimick is a winner and is only going to get better as he cuts his teeth amongst the professional ranks.
“Daniel’s the full package, at least from my perspective,” said Wiseman, who has been in charge of the Broncos squad for the last ten years. “I still think he’s going to play in the MLS before his career’s all said and done.”
Under Wiseman, Nimick started his career with the Broncos as a holding midfielder but moved to centreback in his second year. By the end of his college career, he would be named First Team All-MAC, United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American and was the first defender ever recognized as the MAC Player of the Year,
Nimick would also serve as the Broncos captain and was selected in 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
But what’s interesting is that Wiseman recognized Nimick’s ability to play in an offensive, attacking system like Gheisar. The Broncos played a 4-3-3 system last year with strong, mobile fullbacks and a holding centre midfielder.
The numbers speak for themselves as the Broncos conceded only 10 goals last year — the fewest in the nation — and struck 43 times.
And when you hear Wiseman describe his attacking coaching philosophy, it sounds a lot like the one Nimick has embraced in Halifax.
Wiseman said that having the ball and getting it in dangerous areas is key but it’s not about simply having possession: they want to create opportunities.
“We’re definitely not accustomed to sitting back. We’ll make some errors, no doubt, but the errors we want to make are aggressive errors and we can live with that,” he explained of his system.
He also added that Nimick was a big part of his squad’s attack, tallying five game winners in 2022.
“He can pull the trigger from distance and I would bet that through the course of the season, you’re going to see a couple wonder goals from him,” said Wiseman. “The guy, even at the centreback position, has a knack for finding the back of the net. Whether that’s off set pieces or as a runner but he scored 12 goals for us and eight this past year.”
Goal scorer is something Nimick would like to add to his CPL resume but he’s concentrating on emulating what his old coach calls blue collar soccer.
“Hard work, bringing energy and that competitive spirit is what the Broncos feed off of and that’s how we won our games. I think that’s something I’ve been able to bring (to Halifax),” said Nimick in an interview with the Wanderers Notebook.
And although Wiseman said he hasn’t seen any of the Wanderers games yet, he wasn’t surprised to hear that Nimick was working his hardest — and impressing — in Gheisar’s attacking system.
“I think it’s probably his Leeds United upbringing but his soccer IQ, how he sees the game, I think is very good. As is his coachability. If (Patrice) is asking him to do something different, then he’s going to try to do that to the best of his ability. He’s not going to waver from that,” said Wiseman.
Gheisar has only worked with Nimick since March but he said his young centreback is on the right path to becoming a dominant player in the league.
“I think he’s going to continue to grow to be one of the best centrebacks in this league and will hopefully play above the others,” he said.
But right now, Nimick isn’t worried about the future; he’s taking his career game by game and is happy with his start.
“I’ve got to play in all the games so far and I’ve felt comfortable. It’s been a high level of play — everyone’s so technically good — but I think I’m adjusting to it well and I’ve been enjoying my time,” he said.
Leadership is something Wiseman said Nimick brought in spades to Western Michigan and it’s something he brought to his youth teams as well, wearing the armband at Leeds United and Harrogate Town.
“It’s something I try to do in my game,” said Nimick when asked about leadership. “I think everyone has a leadership role (on the team) and I’m doing my best to contribute.”
His next step will be to help the Wanderers earn their first win this weekend against Valour FC.
And you can be sure his old coach will be following him closely.
Cover Photo Credit: HFX Wanderers FC
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