On Thursday September 17th, the Wheeling Nailers announced the signing of American centreman Cody Bradley. The two sides agreed to terms on a standard player contract for the upcoming season. Bradley, 26-years-old, is the son of former NHL’er, Brian Bradley, and makes his return to North America with the Nailers. He does so after spending three years with numerous hockey clubs overseas.
The native of Tampa, Florida began his pro career with the Norfolk Admirals before making the move to Füchse Duisburg in Germany. This was in 2016-17 where he produced 11 points in 11 games played. He has also made stops in Sweden, Slovakia, China and the Czech Republic. His most successful season was 2018-19 with Motor Ceske Budejovice in the Czech2 league. There, he recorded 15 goals along with 20 assists for 35 points. He did so in 42 games.
In a statement on Thursday from Mark French, head coach of the Wheeling Nailers, he said of the team’s latest signing, “Cody is an offensive player. He has a good combination of speed and vision, which he will be able to use to contribute to our scoring.”
As for the two-way forward, discussing his excitement to return to the league, he said, “I had a really good conversation with Mark French, who has me very excited about this opportunity. I see myself as a play maker, who can also score goals. Additionally, I take pride in playing a two-way game, especially coming over to North America, where they play a harder game and it is more important to play that style.”
Cody Bradley joins forwards Alec Butcher, Brad Drobot, Andrew Gaus, Luke Lynch and Will Smith. On the defensive end, this includes Marc-Olivier Duquette, Chad Duchesne, Jeremy Beaudry, Shane Kuzmeski and Kyle McKenzie. All in all, this gives the Nailers 12 players under contract. They’ve also reportedly signed defensemen Nick Minerva and forward Carlos Fornaris.