Nailers vs. Everblades Playoff Series Preview
Wheeling Nailers (46-20-3-3, 98 Pts.) vs. Maine Mariners (42-21-6-3, 93 Pts.)
WHEELING NAILERS
1st Place in North Division
Record: 46-20-3-3
Points: 98
Goals For: 231 (9th)
Goals Against: 175 (3rd)
Power Play: 46-for-214, 21.5% (7th)
Penalty Kill: 202-for-241, 83.8% (10th)
Round 1: Defeated Reading 4-1
Round 2: Defeated Maine 4-3
FLORIDA EVERBLADES
1st Place in South Division
Record: 49-13-7-3
Points: 108
Goals For: 245 (7th)
Goals Against: 142 (1st)
Power Play: 40-for-230, 17.4% (19th)
Penalty Kill: 202-for-230, 87.8% (2nd)
Round 1: Defeated Savannah 4-0
Round 2: Defeated South Carolina 4-1
Head to-Head
2025-26 Regular Season: Did Not Play (Last Meeting was in 2020-21)
All-Time Regular Season: Everblades 15, Nailers 9
All-Time Regular Season at WHL: Everblades 7, Nailers 2
All-Time Regular Season at FLA: Everblades 8, Nailers 7
All-Time Playoff Series: Nailers 1, Everblades 0 (4-2 Wheeling in 2016 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal)
Goaltending
Wheeling: D'Aigle, Gauthier
Florida: Johnson, McClellan
Another series of elite goaltending is upon us, as Wheeling's Taylor Gauthier and Florida's Cam Johnson have been the backbones of their respective clubs during the first two rounds of the playoffs. Both netminders are well-decorated in their careers, as Gauthier won ECHL Goaltender of the Year in 2023-24, then Johnson won ECHL Goaltender of the Year in 2024-25 and 2025-26. Gauthier is in his fourth season with the Nailers, and is the team's record holder for career regular season wins, shutouts, and games played. He has already secured the club record for playoff shutouts, and is one win away from matching the most wins by a goaltender in both a single postseason and in a playoff career. This is Johnson's seventh season with the Everblades, and he is the only current player on the team with three Kelly Cup Championships. His 87 career playoff games are second most in Florida history, trailing only former Wheeling forward John McCarron. During the regular season, Gauthier led the ECHL with a .929 save percentage (Johnson- 4th, .923), while Johnson led the ECHL with a 1.84 goals against average (Gauthier- 3rd, 2.09). Gabriel D'Aigle saw action in game three of the North Division Final Series for the Nailers, while Kyle McClellan has yet to step into the crease in the postseason for the Everblades.
Defense
Wheeling: Breazeale, Budnick, Johnson, Kuqali, Laatsch, Pieniniemi, Sutter, Thompson
Florida: Allen, Berzolla, Cassaro, Doherty, Kyte, Moberg, Sambrook, Zmolek
There are two numbers that pop off of the page when it comes to the defensemen. Florida's Jordan Sambrook led the entire ECHL with a +62 rating this season. He was also the top offensive defenseman for the Everblades during the regular season with 47 points. Wheeling's Brent Johnson led ECHL rookie blueliners with 55 points, and his 12 goals were tied for fourth among defensemen, regardless of their tenure in the league. While Gauthier and C. Johnson are plenty deserving of their accolades, both clubs did a tremendous job of helping their goalies in the defensive zone, as Florida's 142 goals allowed were the fewest in the ECHL, while Wheeling finished with the third lowest total at 175. Johnson and David Breazeale have led the Nailers with +9 and +7 ratings in the playoffs respectively, and they are also the team's leaders in time on ice during the first two rounds. Cole Moberg has been the most productive defenseman in the playoffs for the Everblades with seven points, while Riese Zmolek tops their squad with a +9 rating. One of Wheeling's biggest goals in the North Division Final Series came from the blueline, as Emil Pieniniemi scored in overtime of game six to keep the Nailers alive and give them the chance to advance two nights later. Tristan Thompson also scored in round two for Wheeling, while Sambrook, Moberg, and Zach Berzolla have playoff goals for Florida.
Offense
Wheeling: Andrew, Armstrong, Bennett, De St. Phalle, Edwards, Graham, Lockhart, McAllister, Pietila, Posma, Quercia, Renwick, Shoudy, Urdahl, Works
Florida: Betts, Brar, Chau, Cooper, Duke, Elynuik, Fizer, Gicewicz, Jones, Lambdin, Lansdell, Needham, Nurse, Romano, Stange
29 of the 30 forwards on the two rosters have played during the first two rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, and 28 of those 29 have recorded at least one point. Wheeling's most dominant line in the North Division Final Series was comprised of Ryan McAllister, Brayden Edwards, and Matty De St. Phalle. McAllister is the leading playoff scorer for the Nailers with 11 points, and he accumulated nine of those against Maine. Edwards was the only player to collect at least one point in all seven games, which gives him Wheeling's longest point streak of the year (regular season or playoffs). Zach Urdahl leads the Nailers with five playoff goals, and he scored what turned out to be the series winner in game seven against the Mariners. On the other side of the ice, Anthony Romano was responsible for 35% of Florida's goals in the South Division Final Series, as he lit the lamp seven times in five games against South Carolina. Romano was the team's leader in goals (26) and points (62) during the regular season. Carson Gisewicz has also contributed strong numbers for the Everblades, as his ten postseason points are tied with Romano for the top spot on the club. Florida's 3.78 goals per game in the playoffs are the second most in the ECHL.
Special Teams
Wheeling: PP- 21.5%, 7th. PK- 83.8%, 10th.
Florida: PP- 17.4%, 19th. PK- 87.8%, 2nd.
After scoring just one goal in the first seven games of the playoffs, Wheeling's power play has regained its form from the regular season, as the Nailers scored on the man advantage in games three through six of the North Division Final Series, and had a 21.1% success rate from game three through the end of the round. Brayden Edwards has been involved in the scoring on four of Wheeling's five playoff power play goals (2G, 2A), while Ryan McAllister and Emil Pieniniemi have three points each. With the exception of game three against Maine, the penalty kill has been an enormous strength for the Nailers in the postseason. Taking that contest out of the equation (the Mariners went 4-for-6), Wheeling has limited its first two opponents to three power play goals on 47 chances (93.6%) in 11 games. The Nailers also have two shorthanded goals - both by Zach Urdahl. One of the rare mediocre numbers for the Everblades was their regular season power play, which finished 19th in the ECHL at 17.4%. However, they've kicked that up a few notches in the playoffs, and check in to round three with a 23.3% success rate, thanks to seven goals on 30 chances. Five of those seven goals were scored in round two against the Stingrays. Anthony Romano and Hudson Elynuik have both potted two, while Carson Gicewicz has four points on the man advantage. Meanwhile, Florida's penalty kill has been nearly perfect. Connor Moore's shot in game three of the South Division Final Series for South Carolina is the only one that has gone in during 23 shorthanded situations for the Everblades in the entire postseason. Florida doesn't spend much time in the penalty box, averaging just 2.56 penalty kills per game in the playoffs. The Everblades have one shorthanded goal, and that came from Gicewicz.
Coaching
Wheeling: HC Ryan Papaioannou (1st Season), AC- Mitch Giguere (3rd Season), AC- Evan McFeeters (1st Season), GC- Karel Popper (2nd Season)
Florida: HC Brad Ralph (10th Season), AC- Kyle Mountain (1st Season)
For the second round in a row, two coaches who finished as finalists for ECHL Coach of the Year will clash, as Florida's Brad Ralph finished fourth and Wheeling's Ryan Papaioannou finished fifth in the voting. Both of these gentlemen have one significant similarity - they've won... a lot. Papaioannou won seven AJHL championships, one BCHL title, four Centennial/RBC Cups, a Western Canada Cup, and a Rocky Mountain Challenge during his 16 seasons as head coach of the Brooks Bandits, and he has already delivered the Nailers their first division title since 2004. Ryan is also the fifth Wheeling head coach to earn multiple playoff series wins during his first campaign behind the club's bench. This is Ralph's 11th season with the Everblades and his 14th year as an ECHL head coach, as he also coached Idaho for three seasons from 2012-15. The 11 years in Florida give Brad the longest active tenure with one team in the ECHL. Ralph has led the Everblades to three Kelly Cup Championships, one other appearance in the Kelly Cup Final, and between Florida and Idaho, this is his eighth trip to the conference final round. Switching over to the assistants, Mitch Giguere will be coaching in his sixth playoff series for the Nailers, which is the second most in team history for a coach regardless of title, trailing Doug Sauter's seven as a head coach from 1992-95. Evan McFeeters won an AJHL Championship as Papaioannou's assistant with Brooks in 2021-22, while Karel Popper has helped lead Wheeling to back-to-back top-ten finishes in goals against average. Kyle Mountain is the assistant coach for the Everblades. He previously spent one season as an assistant coach, then one season as a head coach with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Greenville qualified for the playoffs when Mountain served as former Nailer Andrew Lord's assistant.
Experience
Wheeling: 277 Kelly Cup Playoff Games, 0 Championships
Florida: 837 Kelly Cup Playoff Games, 17 Championships
The easiest way to summarize this section is that the Everblades have been there and done that. Florida won three straight Kelly Cup Championships in 2022, 2023, and 2024, then reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2025, where it fell in six games to the Trois-Rivières Lions. While this is Wheeling's first trip to the conference final round since 2016, the Nailers are regular participants in the postseason, as they have now won four series in the last five years. 12 players on the roster for the Everblades have won at least one Kelly Cup, with two of those players doing so as members other teams (Hudson Elynuik with Newfoudland in 2019, Oliver Cooper with Fort Wayne in 2021). Cam Johnson is the only player with three championships (all with Florida), and he won the June M. Kelly Playoff MVP Award in both 2022 and 2023. The 2024 award was won by Oliver Chau, who ranks second in team history with 56 career playoff points. Matthew Quercia is continuing to build on his playoff resume for the Nailers. Thanks to his opening goal on Monday, he became the second player (Jordan Kwas) in team history to score a goal in multiple game sevens. Quercia's 34 career playoff games rank third in Wheeling history, while his 21 points are tied for the ninth most. Both teams have one player who is facing off against the opposition in the playoffs for the second time in their careers. Alexander Kuqali of the Nailers faced Florida in the 2019 South Division Final Series when he played for Orlando. Oliver Cooper of the Everblades faced Wheeling in the 2022 Central Division Semifinal Series when he played for Fort Wayne. The Nailers have a pair of former Everblades on their roster in Aidan Sutter (six games in 2023-24) and Mike Posma (four games in 2024-25).
Arenas
Wheeling: WesBanco Arena (opened in 1977)
Florida: Hertz Arena (opened in 1998)
Home ice has been a humongous advantage for both clubs in the first two rounds of the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs, as the Nailers are 6-0 at WesBanco Arena and the Everblades are 4-0 at Hertz Arena. Those numbers follow the regular season, which saw Wheeling earn 24 home victories, while Florida suffered just five regulation losses in its back yard. One of the biggest reasons for that success is the fan support. The Nailers currently have their second highest playoff attendance in their last 11 postseason appearances (dating back to 2006). The Everblades are one of six teams averaging over 5,000 fans per game in the playoffs. This is the second time that Wheeling and Florida will collide in the playoffs, allowing the two arenas to share more thrilling hockey between the two clubs. Similar to the two road buildings that the Nailers visited in the first two rounds, Hertz Arena (then named Everblades Arena) welcomed hockey into its doors during its first year in business, which in this case was 1998. Unlike Reading and Maine, the first event in Estero was the first home game for the Everblades, which was a 4-1 win over Charlotte on November 19th of that year. Florida started that season with 13 straight road games before finally making its home debut. WesBanco Arena (then named Wheeling Civic Center) had to wait 15 years for professional hockey following its opening in 1977, but was rewarded with a 9-3 victory by the Thunderbirds over the Dayton Bombers on October 18, 1992. This series will determine whether WesBanco Arena will host its third ECHL Championship Series (1 Riley Cup Final, 1 Kelly Cup Final), or if Hertz Arena will host the Kelly Cup Final for the eighth time.
Eastern Conference Final Series
Wheeling Nailers vs. Florida Everblades
Game 1- Fri. May 22 at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Game 2- Sat. May 23 at Florida, 7:00 p.m.
Game 3- Wed. May 27 AT WHEELING, 7:10 p.m.
Game 4- Fri. May 29 AT WHEELING, 7:10 p.m.
Game 5- Sat. May 30 AT WHEELING, 7:10 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 6- Mon. June 1 at Florida, 7:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 7- Wed. June 3 at Florida, 7:30 p.m. (if necessary)
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