Wheeling Nailers become affiliate of NHL’s Blue Jackets
WHEELING, W.Va. – The Wheeling Nailers capped a wild and crazy offseason Thursday by announcing their affiliation with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The deal is for two years.
“We are excited to begin our new partnership with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters,” Nailers president and governor Brian Komorowski said. “Geographically, this makes all of the sense in the world for us. When transactions occur, the travel for the players will be extremely convenient. This also gives us an excellent opportunity to expand our growing fan base deeper into Ohio, as we look forward to welcoming fans from Columbus and Cleveland to WesBanco Arena.”
The announcement comes after the Nailers’ 29-year affiliation with the Pittsburgh Penguins ended following the team’s sale to the Hoffman Family of Companies. The new ownership announced in July that the Penguins would affiliate with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, another club owned by the Hoffman Family of Companies. The Everblades eliminated the Nailers in the Eastern Conference Finals this spring.
“We knew this day was coming and we’ve put a lot of work into it through conversations with Columbus,” Komorowski said. “We had amazing conversations with Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell and Assistant General Manager Chris Clark, which makes us that much more eager to officially get things started.”
Wheeling and Columbus share a long hockey history. Before the Blue Jackets entered the NHL in 2000, Columbus was home to the ECHL’s Chill from 1991-99. The Nailers and then-Thunderbirds faced the Chill for eight seasons, with Wheeling posting a 27-24 record in 51 regular-season meetings. The Thunderbirds also swept Columbus in the opening round of the 1996 Riley Cup playoffs.
“We are excited to partner with the Wheeling Nailers as our new ECHL affiliate,” said Chris Clark, who oversees hockey operations for the Blue Jackets’ professional affiliates. “Wheeling has a long tradition of both player development and organizational success, and its proximity to both Cleveland and Columbus will be advantageous on the hockey side, while providing a great opportunity to promote our organization and the game throughout the region.”
The Nailers become the sixth ECHL affiliate for the Blue Jackets and the organization’s first since its partnership with the Kalamazoo Wings ended in 2023.
“Pittsburgh was a great partner. We had a lot of good things happen with Pittsburgh,” Komorowski said. “They had an ownership change and I understand why they made the decision they did, but once that happened, we had to turn the page. We had a partner who was right next door in Columbus and, honestly, with Cleveland being only two-and-a-half hours away, will be a prime affiliate for us to send players to the AHL. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was about five-and-a-half hours away.”
Komorowski said the Nailers also spoke with other NHL organizations but believed Columbus was the best fit.
“We got into the game late where we were looking for affiliates, but, honestly, the No. 1 prime target was Columbus because of the proximity and fan base. Looking out our windows we can see Ohio,” he said. “It made all the sense in the world.”