The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are excited to announce that Patrick Watling has been chosen as the Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week for February 21-27.
Watling, 28, helped the Nailers close out February with a bang, as they won three of four games on their recent homestand to finish the month with a 9-2-0 record. Patrick found the back of the net in all four contests, and had assists in two of the four. The success began on Tuesday, as his two assists came during Wheeling’s third period comeback, then he netted the game winning goal 2:03 into overtime for the 4-3 triumph over Reading. Watling was the lone goal scorer for the Nailers the following night, as they fell 4-1 to the Royals. On Friday against Kalamazoo, Patrick lit the lamp during the second period, and finished second in the game with six shots, as Wheeling edged Kalamazoo, 4-3. Then, on Saturday night, the entire offensive exploded to put eight goals on the scoreboard in an 8-2 thumping of the Wings. Watling was responsible for the first two, which came in a span of 27 seconds, then tacked on three helpers for his second five-point game as a Nailer, in addition to a ten-point week.
Despite having played in 18 fewer games than he did all of last season, the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native has eclipsed all of his totals from his first year in the Friendly City. Patrick is currently tied for the team lead with 20 goals, and is in sole possession of the top spot on the roster with 31 assists and 51 points. All of those numbers are career highs for Watling, who had previously played in the ECHL for three seasons with the Orlando Solar Bears, before attending the University of New Brunswick. Patrick has also appeared in five AHL games this season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Syracuse Crunch.
This is the third time that Watling has earned Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week honors with Wheeling, as he did so twice last season. He is the second Nailer to earn the honor this season, following Sam Houde in December.
On behalf of Patrick Watling, a case of pucks will be donated to a Wheeling youth hockey organization by Inglasco, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Inglasco has donated more than 45,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.
