The Wheeling Nailers are an ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Wheeling Nailers are the ECHL Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was previously the Cornwall Aces before they became Pittsburgh's affiliate in 1996.

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Franchise history

One of the oldest low-minor league hockey teams, the franchise began play in 1982 in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League as the Carolina Thunderbirds based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The team, along with the Virginia Lancers, joined the All-American Hockey League in 1987, which lasted just the 1987–88 season, after which the Thunderbirds, Lancers, and Johnstown Chiefs formed the basis for the modern ECHL, of which the Thunderbirds won the first ECHL playoff championship, then known as the Jack Riley Cup, defeating the Johnstown Chiefs, 4-3 for the 1988–89 season. They became the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds in 1990 and moved to Wheeling in 1992 under the leadership of President and co-owner Ed Broyhill.

After a trademark dispute with the junior league Seattle Thunderbirds, the club became the Nailers for the 1996–97 season when the franchise held a contest open to local fans, which was won by C. J. Wickham of Steubenville, Ohio. The name "Nailers" was chosen for the city's long history of nail manufacturing. The team colors are black, red, and Vegas gold.

The team plays at the WesBanco Arena (formerly the Wheeling Civic Center). After missing the playoffs for five straight seasons, they had a 106-point season in 2003–04. They were defeated by the Reading Royals in 5 games, 3-2. In season 2005–06 they had a great season making it to the second round of the playoffs losing to Toledo in the final second of the final game.

The Nailers were the inaugural ECHL champion in the playoffs, yet hold the record with three Brabham Cup titles.

Main rival

The Nailers main rival inside the ECHL is the Johnstown Chiefs, and both teams have been rivals for 21 seasons, counting the ACHL year before they became the ECHL. At the beginning of the 2007–08 season, opening night featured the two teams wearing 1988–89 era jerseys to celebrate the 20th ECHL season.

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SOL	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Standing
1992–93	64	40	16	—	8	—	88	314	223	1st, East
1993–94	68	38	23	—	7	—	83	327	289	3rd, North
1994–95	68	46	17	—	5	—	97	313	243	1st, North
1995–96	70	42	23	—	—	5	89	289	261	2nd, North
1996–97	70	36	29	5	—	—	77	298	291	4th, North
1997–98	70	37	24	9	—	—	83	255	255	2nd, North
1998–99	70	27	37	6	—	—	60	206	249	6th, Northeast
1999–2000	70	25	40	5	—	—	55	202	246	5th, Northeast
2000–01	72	24	40	8	—	—	56	192	277	5th, Northeast
2001–02	72	36	32	4	—	—	76	213	208	5th, Northeast
2002–03	72	28	41	3	—	—	59	193	261	6th, Northeast
2003–04	72	51	17	4	—	—	106	259	188	1st, North
2004–05	72	38	29	5	—	—	81	171	173	6th, North
2005–06	72	45	21	6	—	—	96	247	186	2nd, East
2006–07	72	32	34	6	—	—	70	215	255	7th, North
2007–08	72	22	43
3	4	51	186	284	7th, North
2008–09	72	36	28
2	6	80	263	260	4th, North

Playoffs

Season	Preliminary	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Kelly Cup finals
1992–93	—	Bye	W, 3-1, Johnstown	W, 4-2, Raleigh	L, 2-4, Toledo
1993–94	—	W, 2-0, Nashville	W, 3-1, Hampton	L, 0-3, Toledo	—
1994–95	—	L, 0-3, Birgmingham	—	—	—
1995–96
1996–97	—	L, 0-3, Peoria	—	—	—
1997–98	—	W, 3-2, Dayton	W, 3-1, Toledo	L, 2-4, Hampton	—
1998–99	Out of playoffs
1999–2000	Out of playoffs
2000–01	Out of playoffs
2001–02	Out of playoffs
2002–03	Out of playoffs
2003–04	—	L, 2-3, Reading	—	—	—
2004–05	Out of playoffs
2005–06	—	W, 3-1, Reading	L, 2-3, Toledo	—	—
2006–07	Out of playoffs
2007–08	Out of playoffs
2008–09	—	L, 3-4, Cincinnati	—	—	—

Current roster

As of January 4, 2009. ^[1]

Goaltenders
#		align=left	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of birth
29		Curtis Darling	L	2007	Calgary, Alberta
30		David Brown	L	2007	Stoney Creek, Ontario

Defencemen
#		align=left	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of birth
2		Cliff Loya	R	2004	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3		Chris Snavely	R	2007	Lancaster, Pennsylvania
4		Todd Spencer	L	2007	Brentwood, New Hampshire
5		Reid Cashman	L	2008	Red Wing, Minnesota
8		Jeremy Scherlinck	L	2008	Grosse Pointe, Michigan
14		Brock Sheahan	L	2008	Lethbridge, Alberta
23		Mitch Ganzak	L	2008	Redford, Michigan
24		Elgin Reid	L	2008	Milton, Ontario
27		Doug Krantz	R	2008	Marysville, British Columbia

Forwards
#		align=left	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of birth
6		Tommy Goebel	F	R	2008	Parma, Ohio
7		Aaron Clarke	F	L	2007	Peterborough, Ontario
10		Bryan Ewing	F	R	2008	Wheeling, West Virginia
11		Rob Sirianni	F	R	2008	Edmonton, Alberta
12		Jordan Morrison	F	L	2008	Uxbridge, Ontario
13		Erik Johnson	F	R	2007	Coon Rapids, Minnesota
15		Nick Johnson	F	R	2007	Calgary, Alberta
16		Andrew Lord	RW	L	2007	West Vancouver, British Columbia
18		Matt Grennier	RW	L	2007	Dryden, Ontario
19		Kelly Miller	F	R	2007	Toledo, Ohio
20		Tobias Holm	F	R	2007	Kulma, Sweden
22		Cedrick Bernier	F	R	2007	Beauport City, Quebec
25		Shane Willis	RW	R	2009	Edmonton, Alberta
28		David Mitchell	F	R	2009	Miramichi, New Brunswick

Notable Nailers Alumni

• David Aebischer G - Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Phoenix Coyotes
• Paul Bissonnette LW - Pittsburgh Penguins
• Francis Bouillon D - Montreal Canadiens
• Daniel Carcillo LW - Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers
• John Curry G - Pittsburgh Penguins
• Drew Fata D - New York Islanders
• Craig Ferguson C - Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers
• Scott Ferguson D - Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Minnesota Wild
• Scott Fraser RW - Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers
• Joaquin Gage G - Edmonton Oilers
• Jason Jaffray LW - Vancouver Canucks
• Joe Jensen LW - Carolina Hurricanes
• David Koci LW - Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues
• Zenon Konopka C - Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Peter Laviolette Head Coach - Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes
• Marc Lamothe G - Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings
• Marquis Mathieu C - Boston Bruins
• Kurtis McLean C - New York Islanders
• Michel Ouellet RW - Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Ba Lightning, Vancouver Canucks
• Cam Paddock C - St. Louis Blues
• Marc Rodgers RW - Detroit Red Wings
• Dany Sabourin G - Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks
• Yves Sarault G - Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, Atlanta Thrashers, Nashville Predators
• Danny Taylor G - Los Angeles Kings
• Terry Virtue D - Boston Bruins, New York Rangers
• Mark Visheau D - Los Angeles Kings
• Tomas Vokoun G - Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers
• Tim Wallace RW - Pittsburgh Penguins ^[2]

Head Coaches

• Tom McVie 1996-97
• Peter Laviolette 1997-98
• Chris Jensen 1998-99
• Murray Eaves 1999-2000
• Alain Lemieux 2000-01
• Joe Harney 2001 (interim)
• John Brophy 2001-03
• Pat Bingham 2003-05
• Glenn Patrick 2005-2008
• Greg Puhalski 2008-Present ^[3]

References

1. The Official Website of the Wheeling Nailers
2. ECHL Alumni
3. FRANCHISE HISTORY