Nailers Meurs Named ECHL Player of Week
Wheeling Forward had six points in two games
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WHEELING -- Two years ago Wheeling coach Jeff Christian went after forward Garrett Meurs hard during the recruiting process. As it turns out, it was a perfect match.
"I asked his agent, 'what does Garrett Meurs need?'"í Christian recalled Tuesday after practice at WesBanco Arena. "He said `he needs opportunity and confidence.í I said, 'well, I am going to give him both.'"í ì
The rest, as they say, is history.
The Nailers opened the 2017 season last weekend on the road in Greenville, S.C. They took home a pair of victories and Meurs was at the forefront with six points (4g-2a). That performance earned him a Sherwood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week honor.
"I talked to him and said 'that was as good as I have seen you play,'"ì Christian said. "For one of the few guys around here that didnít get to go to Wilkesí camp and was talking about maybe not playing in the ECHL this year and going to Europe, to come in and have a weekend like that?î"
Meurs, a 6-foot, 180-pound right wing who is a former fifth-round selection by the Colorado Avalanche, has earned a reputation around the league as someone who is difficult to play against. As Christian always says, Meurs goes to the line of what is legal but doesn't cross it.
"People think that maybe I overpaid him this summer because we gave him a little bump,"î Christian said. "Coaches call me and say, 'why would you pay him that?'í Because we love him so much.
He is a gentleman off the ice. As nice as can be and a great teammate.
ìBut he's an animal on the ice. He's going to get under your skin and is that rat."î
The Wingham, Ontario, native was the lone Nailers player with 100 penalty minutes (117) last year. But that was far from Muers' only strength.Meurs scored 25 goals and registered 50 points while achieving a plus-2 rating.
"And he played second power play last year and this year, too,"î Christian marveled. "The first game (Friday) he came down 2-on-2 and he cut back, which is something we've been working on. Just that intelligence to recognize the middle-drive and to cut back and score on that.
"He's got such a great wrister and he's going to get a lot of garbage goals, too. I've got to work with him a little bit on getting around the net, fishing pucks out and snapping them home.
"That was vintage Garrett Meurs. When he plays that way he provides that spark. The one-timer on the 5-on-3 and that huge goal in OT. He's got such a nice release."
A veteran of 88 American Hockey League games, it appears the 24-year-old isn't long for the ECHL. If Meurs keeps playing at this level, his time in Wheeling could be short.
"He had a career year in the ECHL and got called up last year,î" Christian said. "He started his career in the American League and he wants to get back there.
"You can see it by how hard he works."î