WHEELING – The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are excited to announce their first player signing of the 2025 offseason. Wheeling has re-signed forward Matthew Quercia to an ECHL contract.

Quercia, 26, is coming off of a career year for the Nailers, as he reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his three seasons as a pro. His 20 goals were tied for the second most on the team in 2024-25, and he also distributed 13 assists for a total of 33 points, which matched his total from the previous season. He was the team’s leader when it came to physicality, as he finished first on the club with ten fighting majors and 188 penalty minutes, both of which were career highs. He achieved all of that while appearing in 68 of 72 regular season games. One of Quercia’s most notable moments from this past season came during the team’s home opener, when he snapped a 1-1 tie with just over 12 seconds remaining to lift the Nailers to a 2-1 triumph over Bloomington. He scored two goals in a game on three occasions, with the last of those coming on April 11 in Trois-Rivieres, when Wheeling was on the verge of locking up second place in the North Division. All of those efforts helped him earn the Fan Choice Player of the Year Award.

The native of Andover, Mass., began his professional career in the back half of the 2021-22 season, when he joined the Nailers after playing collegiately at Boston University and Michigan Tech. Since then, Quercia has appeared in 151 regular season games in a Wheeling uniform, and has amassed 34 goals, 39 assists, 73 points, and 385 penalty minutes. He is currently 49 games away from reaching 200 games as a Nailer, which has only been done eight times previously. He is also 54 penalty minutes away from reaching the team’s top 10 in that category. Quercia’s shining moment with Wheeling continues to be his winning goal in overtime of Game 7 against the Fort Wayne Komets in the 2022 Central Division Semifinal Series.

Quercia and the Wheeling Nailers will begin the 2025-26 season in Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 18. The first home game is Saturday, Nov. 1 against the Norfolk Admirals.