Within less than a week of his sophomore season ending, Casey Wellman is making an impact on the ice again.
In his first game as a professional, after signing a two-year entry-level contract with the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild, the former Massachusetts hockey player recorded an assist within his first 10 minutes of playing time at the NHL level.
With UMass’ season coming to an end last Saturday with its loss to eventual Hockey East tournament champion Boston College, the Wild signed Wellman as a free agent in an attempt to get younger players.
After finishing a successful sophomore campaign with 22 goals and 23 assists, Wellman made his NHL debut on Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the second period of the Wild’s 4-2 loss, Wellman assisted Chuck Kobasew to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead at the time. Wellman also played over 11 minutes and took two shots in the Wild’s 4-3 victory on Sunday.
“Casey is a skilled, offensive forward who shoots the puck,” Wild general manager, Chuck Fletcher, said in the team’s press release. “He was a highly sought-after free agent, and we are excited he chose to sign with us.”
Wellman, a Brentwood, Calif., native, had a strong two-year career as a Minuteman, finishing with 34 goals and 45 assists. His 11 goal, 23 assist freshman season earned him All-Rookie Team Honors.
Prior to playing at UMass, Wellman played two years with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League. During that time, he totaled 69 points (30 goals) in 118 games.
“We’re attracted to his offensive potential,” assistant general manager, Brent Flahr, said in the Wild’s press release. “He’s your typical late-blooming kid that went undrafted. He’s not a finished product, we’re aware of that. But with his shot and offensive potential, we were willing to take a shot and get him in here, and hopefully get him going on his pro career.”
Wellman’s signing is a bit of a rarity for Minnesota. The last time the Wild signed a college free agent was in 2006 when they signed defenseman Mike Madill, and the last United States college free agent they signed was Travis Roche in 2001.
While college free-agent signings may not have been past procedure for Minnesota, the team says they have other targets who could make an impact like Wellman.
“[Wellman] was obviously one of the main targets,” Flahr said. “Our guys work all year long to identify free agents. There are a couple names that we listed at the end of the year. But we’re not out to sign players just to sign players. We’re looking for players that have a chance to play in the NHL, and people we want in the organization. We’re just trying to do the best we can to supplement the talent we have coming.”
Jeffrey R. Larnard can be reached at [email protected].
