Blue Jackets, Monsters Become Nailers’ New Affiliates

Joe Lovell

WHEELING - The Wheeling Nailers capped a wild and crazy offseason Thursday morning 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 Thursday at WesBanco Arena. “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. Columbus and Cleveland have been affiliated since 2015, and the Monsters won the Calder Cup during their first season as the Blue Jackets’ top minor league affiliate.

“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 proximity between the three organizations was a major factor in the agreement. Wheeling is about 166 miles from Cleveland and 128 miles from Columbus, making player movement significantly easier than under the previous affiliation.

“Everybody looks at the affiliate as Pittsburgh and Columbus. What we were looking for in an affiliate was the distance between the AHL, meaning Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Cleveland,” Komorowski said. “This will save a great amount of time if Cleveland needs a player on a Saturday night and they find that out after a morning skate. A player can very easily be in Cleveland that night. That would’ve been nearly impossible with Wilkes-Barre.”

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.”

The affiliation announcement follows a summer of change for the Nailers, who hired head coach Nate DiCasmirro and associate coach Jason Payne while rebuilding the roster after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

For now, the team will continue wearing its traditional black-and-gold uniforms.

“Our jerseys had to be ordered at an earlier time, so right now that’s what we are going with,” Komorowski said.

Although the agreement is for two years, Komorowski said both organizations hope it develops into a longer partnership.

“There are options for longer and we will continue to look at those,” he said. “Right now, it’s all about working together, getting to know each other and finding out how they want to use us because we are developing their players and them realizing that we are a benefit for them, as well.”

Columbus becomes the fifth NHL affiliate in Nailers history. The organization previously partnered with Edmonton, Montreal, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

“We look forward to working with Head Coach Nate DiCasmirro, his staff and the entire Nailers organization while helping the young players in our system take the next step in their development,” Clark said.

The Nailers lead all ECHL franchises with 71 former players and coaches who have advanced to the NHL.