Nailers Complete Future Considerations Trades

WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, have announced the completions of their future considerations trades. The Nailers have acquired defensemen Chad Duchesne and Andrew McLean, and have traded forward Nick Saracino and Spencer Trapp.

To complete the trade which originally sent forward Cedric Lacroix to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Wheeling selected defenseman Chad Duchesne. The 25-year old from Inverary, Ontario will be entering his fifth professional season, after playing each of his first four years in Greenville. Duchesne saw his offensive game evolve during his time with Greenville, as he compiled 11 points during his first two seasons, then upped that total to 37 points over the course of the last two years, which includes a career high in points (19) during the 2018-19 season and a career high in goals (3) this past season. Chad is an experienced and stable player, who has appeared in 237 career ECHL games, and has only missed nine games in the last three seasons.

To complete the trade which originally sent defenseman Ruslan Rakhmatov to the Norfolk Admirals, the teams agreed on a deal to send defenseman Andrew McLean to Wheeling. The 25-year old from Waterford, Michigan made his ECHL debut on March 10th in Norfolk's 3-2 road win against the Maine Mariners. Prior to that, McLean played four seasons of college hockey at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Andrew led the Pointers in scoring by defensemen during both his junior and senior campaigns, with his junior year being his most productive, as he recorded 22 points. Overall, the blueliner accumulated 13 goals, 48 assists, and 61 points in 108 games.

To complete the trade which originally sent defenseman Steve Johnson to the Nailers, South Carolina selected forward Nick Saracino. The 28-year old from St. Louis, Missouri spent the last two seasons with Wheeling, and produced at over a point-per-game clip, as he amassed 25 goals, 35 assists, and 60 points in 58 games. Saracino served as team captain for the majority of those two years, with the exception of a 38-game stretch with the AHL's Binghamton Devils during the 2018-19 slate. Nick has played four full seasons professionally, and has notched 46 goals, 69 assists, and 115 points in 197 games.

To complete the trade which originally sent forward Josh Holmstrom to the Nailers, Norfolk selected defenseman Spencer Trapp. The 24-year old from White City, Saskatchewan was acquired early in the season from South Carolina, then went on to play in 42 games with Wheeling. Trapp tallied two goals, four assists, and six points, including his first professional goal in his Nailers debut - a 3-2 road win against the Indy Fuel on November 22nd. Spencer had played in one game with the Worcester Railers during the 2018-19 campaign, after he completed his college career at Holy Cross College, which is located in Worcester.

The next key date in the 2020 offseason is Monday, July 15th, when Season Ending Rosters are due. Teams will then be allowed to begin signing players for the 2020-21 season on Tuesday, July 16th.