The Wheeling Nailers announced today they have added Shawinigan, QC native Zachary Massicotte, for the 2024-25 ECHL season. Massicotte brings AHL and ECHL experience to the Nailers’ blueline. Massicotte will be a huge presence for the Nailers, listed at 6-foot-4 and 216 pounds. He will bring a ton of physicality to the team, as he can lay a big hit and stick up for his teammates while not being afraid to drop the gloves.
Prior to turning pro, Massicotte spent five seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Rimouski Oceanic and his hometown Shawinigan Cataractes. Massicotte was named assistant captain in his final season in the QMJHL with the Cataractes and helped his team win the 2022 QMJHL Championship. In those five seasons, he played 250 total games, collecting 14 goals, 66 assists, and an impressive +52. His best season came during the 2019-20 season, where he tallied four goals, 26 assists, and a career-high +24 in 64 games.
Massicotte will enter his third season of professional hockey and first with the Nailers. During the 2022-23 season, the 23-year-old saw time with the Belleville Senators in the American Hockey League and Allen Americans in the ECHL. Massicotte played four games with the Senators, tallying no points, and was sent to the Americans for the remainder of the season. He played 57 games during the regular season, where he notched six goals and 13 assists but struggled in the plus/minus category, going -6. During the Kelly Cup Playoffs, he played eight games, collecting two assists and a +2 rating. Last season, he signed with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL. He played 19 games for the Crunch, tallying one point on an assist and a +1 rating. He was later sent to the Orlando Solar Bears, where he saw 39 games, collecting two goals and nine assists with a -5 rating. He played 11 playoff games with the Solar Bears, collecting one assist, and went even through those 11 games.
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