Wheeling Nailers sign former Penguins draft pick Dane Birks
The Wheeling Nailers have signed defenseman Dane Birks to an ECHL contract. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
Birks, 25, was a sixth-round pick (No. 164 overall) of the Penguins in 2013. In June of 2019, the Penguins traded Birks to the Arizona Coyotes as part of a trade which jettisoned popular forward Phil Kessel and a 2021 fourth-round draft pick in exchange for forward Alex Galchenyuk and defensive prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
Last season, Birks appeared in 52 games for the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL and scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists).
Initially signed to a two-year entry-level NHL contract with the Penguins in 2018, Birks became an unrestricted free agent this offseason after the Coyotes declined to extend a qualifying offer.
Birks previously played for the Nailers during the 2018-19 campaign, appearing in 65 games and scoring 14 points (one goal, 13 assists).
Wheeling also signed defenseman Matt Foley to an ECHL contract.
Foley, 25, spent the previous four seasons with Yale. In 21 NCAA games last season, Foley recorded four assists.
The Nailers are scheduled to open the 2020-21 season Dec. 12 with a home game against the Indy Fuel.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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