Nailers Announce 2015-16 Season-Opening Roster
October 15, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are pleased to announce their Season-Opening Roster for the 2015-16 campaign. Clark Donatelli's crew consists of 21 active players, two reserve players, and two players on injured reserve, with a breakdown of 15 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goaltenders for the overall total of 25.
The large forward grouping has the potential to be one of the more electric units in recent memory for the Nailers, as each of the top three scorers from last year (Riley Brace, Derek Army, Zack Torquato) return, along with Sahir Gill, who tallied over a point per game in 2014-15. Jarrett Burton, Shane Bakker, Patrick McGrath, Adam Krause, and Cody Wydo are all familiar names to the Ohio Valley, while Anton Zlobin returns to town after a brief stint with the team during the 2013-14 season. Five other rookie forwards made their way onto the Season-Opening Roster, led by AHL contracted players Ty Loney and John McCarron. They are complemented by Christophe Lalancette, Connor Leen, and Matt Tabrum.
Three of the seven defensemen have donned a Wheeling uniform at some point in their careers, led by Paul Cianfrini, who eclipsed 200 games as a pro last season. Clark Seymour returns for his second tour of duty, and is once again under contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Nailers will have a set of brothers on the team for the second straight year, as Jarrett Burton's older brother Tanner is a member of the blueline. Rookies Mickael Beauregard, Brett Stern, Danny Fick, and Mike Gunn will all look to make strong impressions as they debut at the ECHL level.
This season's squad is carrying three goaltenders to start off, and two of those three backstops have played at least one full season in the league. Franky Palazzese will look to build off of last year's 20-win performance with Wheeling, while Brian Foster has 69 career ECHL wins under his belt, in addition to an NHL appearance with the Florida Panthers in 2011-12. Casey DeSmith is the lone rookie between the pipes, following two appearances in the preseason.
Leen and DeSmith will start the season on the reserve list, while Torquato and Tabrum will start the season on injured reserve.
This 2015-16 Nailers team will drop the puck with a two-game series in Norfolk on October 16th and 17th at Norfolk, before the home opener takes place on October 24th against Brampton at 7:35. Individual tickets, season tickets, mini plans, and group tickets are on sale now, with prices starting as low as $10 per seat. For tickets and more information, call the Nailers at (304) 234-GOAL or online at wheelingnailers.com.
2015-16 Wheeling Nailers
3 D Mickael Beauregard
4 D Paul Cianfrini
5 D Danny Fick
6 D Mike Gunn
7 F Connor Leen (reserve)
8 D Tanner Burton
11 F Cody Wydo
12 F Christophe Lalancette
13 F Patrick McGrath
14 F Matt Tabrum (IR)
15 F Zack Torquato (IR)
16 F Derek Army
17 F Anton Zlobin
19 F Shane Bakker
20 F Jarrett Burton
21 F Sahir Gill
22 D Clark Seymour
23 F Riley Brace
24 F Ty Loney
25 F John McCarron
26 F Adam Krause
27 D Brett Stern
29 G Franky Palazzese
30 G Casey DeSmith (reserve)
31 G Brian Foster
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