Blue Jackets Announce Affiliation With ECHL Nailers

The Wheeling Nailers will not move far after their 28-year affiliation with the Pittsburgh Penguins came to an end earlier this summer. The Metropolitan Division rival Columbus Blue Jackets have announced a two-year affiliation with Wheeling after operating without an ECHL affiliate in the 2025-26 season. The agreement completes Columbus’ minor-league hierarchy, with the ECHL club sitting beneath the Blue Jackets’ long-standing AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

Wheeling has deep roots in North America’s third-tier pro leagues. The franchise began as the Carolina Thunderbirds of the former Atlantic Coast Hockey League in 1981. When the ACHL folded six years later, the Thunderbirds became a focal point of the newly formed ECHL. They moved to Wheeling to become the Wheeling Thunderbirds in 1992, then changed their team name to the Nailers in 1996 following a dispute with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Wheeling Nailers have existed ever since, serving as one of just two clubs with roots in the ECHL’s inaugural season, alongside the Johnstown Chiefs, who have since become the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Wheeling has a history of fluctuating success. The Nailers have never won a Kelly Cup under the Wheeling name, though they did win ECHL regular-season titles in 1993, 1995, and 2026. They also reached the Kelly Cup Finals in 1993 and 2016.

59 former Nailers have appeared in NHL games. The most recent alum to break into the top league is Penguins prospect Avery Hayes, who caught attention from around the league with two goals in his NHL debut in February. While Hayes appeared in Wheeling in his first pro season, the club’s first NHL alum stopped in the ECHL in his final year. Following 14 seasons and 832 games in the NHL, forward Ron Wilson closed his career with 46 games with the Wheeling Thunderbirds, where he scored 42 points.

The Blue Jackets will now look to use Wheeling’s long ECHL history and experience developing future NHL talent as they enter their first season with an ECHL affiliate since 2023.