After a successful rookie year as a professional hockey player for the Wheeling Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marblehead’s Matt Koopman has re-signed and is ready for year two.
During his rookie season with the Nailers, Koopman was the only player on the team to play in all 71 regular season games, scoring 16 goals and delivering 18 assists for a total of 34 points in the regular season.
He played in all nine postseason games, to boot. He contributed four goals and four assists for eight points during that time and also earned the Unsung Hero award for the Nailers in 2023-2024.
The Bay State native played five seasons of college hockey. He played at Providence College for four years, where he earned the Team Player award his senior year for the Friars. He did a post-grad year, due to an extra year of college eligibility because of the coronavirus pandemic, with the national champions in the UMass Minutemen.
Koopman played in 148 career NCAA games and produced 41 points (20 G, 21 A). Prior to reporting to Wheeling, West Virginia on October 3 for the start of the season, he participated in the Penguins’ AHL Wilkes-Barre Penguins training camp.
Koopman is the son of Doug and Jo-Mary, grandson of Alexander and Barbara Kulevich, as well as Marcia Koopman — all of Marblehead. He is the brother to Ben (Cecily), Tom, and Kyle Koopman.