Nailers Announce Opening Day Roster
October 11, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens, are excited to announce their roster for the start of the 2012-13 season. The roster consists of 11 forwards, five defensemen, and two goaltenders, making for a total of 18 players.
Starting from the back and working to the front, Patrick Killeen and Scott Darling will be the goaltending tandem to begin Wheeling's 21st season of professional hockey. Killeen returns for his third season with the club, after going 38-28-6 over the past two years at the ECHL level. Darling appeared in one ECHL game last season with the Florida Everblades, while spending most of the season with the SPHL's Mississippi RiverKings, where he won 15 games. Size is aplenty in goal, as Darling stands tall at 6-foot-6, while Killeen checks in at 6-foot-4.
On the blueline, Peter Merth returns for his third season with the Nailers, after posting a plus-20 rating in 2011-12. He is joined by one of his teammates from last year, as Adam Ross was acquired in a trade with the Bakersfield Condors on December 1st. Joe Stejskal also has a full season of professional hockey under his belt, after spending the 2011-12 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs. 17-game pro Paul Cianfrini and 2010 sixth round NHL draft pick Reid McNeill round out the defense.
At forward, the Nailers return four of their top scorers from last season, as Chris Barton (29 goals, 60 points), Paul Crowder (23 goals, 50 points), Zack Torquato (28 assists, 40 points) and Cody Chupp (34 points in 43 games) will all be suiting up in the Ohio Valley once again. Joining those four as returning players are Community Award winner Ben Farrer, along with Cam Fergus, who had an assist in each of the final three regular season games. Wheeling has also received forward help from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who have assigned Tom Kuhnhackl, Adam Payerl, Dominik Uher, and Scott Zurevinski to the squad. In a separate transaction, the Nailers will also have the services of Bobby Farnham.
Wheeling will also start the season with two players on the 21-day injured reserve list - forward Christiaan Minella and defenseman Zach Hansen.
The Nailers and Cincinnati Cyclones will open the season at US Bank Arena on Saturday night, with face-off scheduled for 7:35. Wheeling will open the season with four straight road games, before returning home on October 26th, for the first of two games against the Reading Royals. Nailers 2012-13 Ticket Packages are on sale now. Packages start at just $7.50 per game. Call 304-234-GOAL or wheelingnailers.com for more information.
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