3rd year, undrafted defenseman Peter Merth(4) has seemed to enjoy his playing time in the pros with Wheeling Nailers. He signed three successive one-year deals to stay with the club.
He’s also received AHL call-ups for the past couple of seasons and training camp invites from Adirondack Phantoms and Abbotsford Heat.
The sturdy 6’3″ 225 lbs. d-man had season bests in 2012/2013 for assists (16) and points (17) but surprisingly only received one pto deal with Hamilton Bulldogs for 7 games. He fared better the previous year appearing in 11 contests with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, connecting for a pair of helpers and was with them through a winning streak.
With 167 ECHL games to his credit, he has scored 5 goals and 36 assists with a mammoth +24 rating and not a lot of unnecessary time in the sin bin.
The 26-year old was recently brought back up to rejoin WBS Penguins’ Calder Cup run as their defense corps became depleted with injuries.
He was inserted into the lineup at exactly the right time, as the team was down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals but made a comeback charge to tie the series at 3 apiece going into a decisive game 7.
He has one assist and a +2 plus/minus in the three contests he’s suited up for.
Seems likely that he’ll make a more permanent jump to the higher league in 2013/2014.
