After an electrifying 35-goal performance last season, Jordan Martel is coming back to the Nailers this season.
Last December, the Wheeling Nailers acquired forward Jordan Martel from the Utah Grizzlies. It didn't take long for Martel to give Wheeling the jolt of offense they were looking for.
In 45 games with the Nailers, Martel averaged over a point per game, racking up 29 goals and 18 assists for 47 points.
The Nailers are looking to get more of that kind of offensive power from Martel, signing the forward to an ECHL contract for the 2024-25 season.
In time split between the Nailers and Grizzlies last season, Martel registered 58 points (35-23-58) in 61 contests. His 35 goals were tied for sixth-best in the ECHL and the second most among players who played in less than 70 games.
Six of those goals came from two hat tricks, both of which led to ECHL Player of the Week honors. Martel became the sixth player in team history to receive the award twice in the same season.
Martel continued his torrid pace in the post-season. In addition to leading the Nailers in scoring during the regular season, he finished first on the club with five goals and eight assists for 13 points in nine Kelly Cup Playoff games.
Between Wheeling, Utah and Fort Wayne, Martel has seen the playoffs for three straight seasons, but this past year marked the first time his team won a series.
Prior to turning pro, the native of Chicoutimi, Quebec played four seasons of junior hockey with the QMJHL's Baie-Comeau Drakkar, then spent two seasons at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres.
Martel's best individual season with the Drakkar came in 2017-18, when he recorded 77 points (39-38-77) in 66 games.
His greatest team success came at UQTR in 2021-22, when the Patriotes took home the University Cup with a thrilling overtime win over the University of Alberta. Martel scored a goal and picked up an assist in the final, notching at least a point in all three games of the championship tournament.
Another bonus of Martel coming back to the Nailers: he'll be reunited with an old teammate, Chris Ortiz. The two previously played together in Baie-Comeau for two seasons.