The Wheeling Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, announced their 2024-25 season award winners. One of the organization's top prospects, netminder Sergei Murashov, who was playing his first professional season in North America, took home the team's WVU Medicine Rookie of the Year honors.
With the Nailers, the 21-year-old from Yaroslavl, Russia, went 17-7-1 with a .922 SV% and 2.40 GAA in 26 games, the second-best numbers of any goalie not named Taylor Gauthier.
Regarding Gauthier, in his third season with the Nailers, he's posted some of the best statistics of his career thanks to an 18-10-2 record with a 2.06 GAA, .928 SV%, and two shutouts. He won the team's Wheeling Nailers Players' Player Award.
Ultimately, those were the only two awards won by the goalies as the skaters picked up the remaining awards.
The Wesbanco Offensive Player of the Year went to Kyle Jackson, the team's leading goal scorer. The Seattle Kraken seventh-round pick (2022) is in his first season with the Nailers and has a career-high 27 goals through 66 games with 52 points, second on the team behind Matty De St. Phalle.
Meanwhile, Wesbanco Defensive Player of the Year honors went to Chris Ortiz. The undrafted 24-year-old is the leading scorer on the blueline with 39 points in 45 games and is plus-19, the best statistic on the team. He's been busy all season, splitting his time with the Nailers, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Providence Bruins.
The Project BEST Community Award went to Peter Laviolette III, the son of NHL head coach Peter Laviolette. The 27-year-old from Wheeling, WV, is in his third season with the Nailers and has only five points in 26 games, the lowest total of his ECHL career. However, he's compiled the second-highest penalty minutes total on the team with 94.
Veteran David Jankowski took home the Wheeling Nailers Unsung Hero Award, tying a career-high 37 points in 70 games, matching the totals he had during the 2023-24 season: 11 goals and 26 assists. The 27-year-old is completing his third season with the Nailers.
Finally, Matthew Quercia won the team's coveted Fan Voted Player of the Year honors. The 26-year-old is in his fourth season with the Nailers and established a new career high with 188 penalty minutes in 68 games, surpassing last year's total of 152.
Additionally, this season, he earned his first call-up to the AHL, going pointless in six games with the Penguins. But Quercia became a 20-goal scorer for the first time in 2024-25, tying a career-high 33 points in the process, with a few games left to break the mark.
Besides celebrating their year-end awards, the ECHL recently announced that the Nailers are celebrating 28 seasons as the Pittsburgh Penguins' affiliate, the longest active connection between the ECHL and NHL. Moreover, the Nailers have spent the past 26 seasons affiliated with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.