Former Penn State men’s hockey right wing Tyler Paquette will continue his pro aspirations in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization signing a deal with the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL.
Paquette, 24, is the first new player to sign with Wheeling, after spending five seasons with the Nittany Lions.
During Paquette’s time, he appeared in 143 career games, tallying 27 goals, 21 assists, and 48 points.
Paquette had career highs in 2021-22 and 2022-23, when he finished with 15 points, notching a career high of 11 goals during the 2021-22 season finishing fourth amongst Nittany Lion skaters.
The Collegeville, Pennsylvania native was an integral part of two NCAA Tournament runs.
During the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Paquette scored Penn State’s first goal of the tournament in an 8-0 triumph over Michigan Tech. Then, in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Paquette assisted on the opening goal of the Nittany Lions’ 3-2 overtime win over UConn, sending Penn State to the Frozen Four for the first time in school history.
Another career highlight at Penn State for Paquette came on January 3, when the Nittany Lions played Notre Dame at the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series at Wrigley Field where Paquette scored 56 seconds after Notre Dame’s opening goal to tie the game at one. Penn State and Notre Dame would play to a draw 3-3.
Academically, Paquette was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
Tyler Paquette will debut with the Wheeling Nailers for the 2025-26 season in Cincinnati on Saturday, October 18th. The first home game is Saturday, November 1st against the Norfolk Admirals.