Connecticut Whale: Casey Wellman’s addition to the team should spark some scoring
Friday afternoon, the Connecticut Whale received exciting news when they learned that 24-year-old center Casey Wellman was joining the team after just being acquired through trade by the New York Rangers. Wellman, alum of UMass-Amherst University, was traded from the Minnesota Wild to the Rangers in exchange for Erik Christensen and a conditional seventh-round draft-pick in 2013.
The Rangers reportedly had a scout monitoring the Wild and their AHL affiliates, the Houston Aeros, prior to making the trade.
Wellman has played in 26 games with the Aeros this season, and is currently posting a point-per-game campaign. The 6-foot-0, 186-pound, forward, has 14 goals and 12 assists in the AHL this season, along with 21 penalty-minutes and a minus-1 rating. Wellman, a native of Brentwood, California, was the fourth-highest scorer in terms of points on the Aeros—who are currently fourth in the Western Conference Standings and second in the West Division—and his 14 goals was tied for the team lead.
In joining the Whale, Wellman maintains his fourth-place spot in team point scoring (tied with Mats Zuccarello), but will become third on the team in goals behind Kris Newbury and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, who each have 16.
Throughout his College and pro hockey career, Wellman has been known for his scoring ability, and puck-control talents. In only his second season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Wellman began making an impact. Wellman recorded the second highest-point total on the team, and as a 19-year-old, he started to draw some interest from NHL scouts. He totaled 28 goals and 64 points in 109 USHL games.
Then, after going undrafted for three straight years, Wellman journeyed to UMass-Amherst University, where he would spend two seasons playing hockey. In both seasons, Wellman finished with the second most points on the team, and in his final year he led the Minutemen in goals with 23 in 36 games. After collecting 34 goals and 78 points in 75 college contests, Wellman, then 22, garnered plenty of interest from NHL teams as a College free-agent. In March of 2010, The Wild signed him to a 2-year entry-level contract, and immediately provided him with an opportunity to prove his game at the NHL level.
Wellman finished the 2009-10 season with Minnesota, scoring a goal and two assists in 12 regular season games.
Last season, Wellman appeared in 15 more games with the Wild, and scored a goal and an assist before joining the Aeros for the first time in his career. With Houston, he scored 14 goals and 21 assists in only 42 games. He also totaled 14 penalty-minutes and was an even rating. In the 2011 AHL playoffs, he scored six goals and five assists in 24 games. The Aeros came within two wins of a Calder Cup title, but were defeated by the Binghamton Senators in six games.
Scouting report and potential
At Hockey’s Future, Wellman is rated a “6.5 C” prospect, which, by their standards, means that he has top-6 potential at the NHL level, but isn’t a guarantee to reach his rating.
“Wellman is a very good skater with good hands and instincts for the net. He loses too many physical battles to be effective at the NHL level currently”, is his scouting report courtesy of HF.
Wellman has played on the Aeros top-line for the majority of this season, and will likely receive the same opportunity in a Whale sweater when he debuts. Wellman can play either center or wing, but with most of the Whale’ top-scorers being wingers, he will likely center one of the top two forward lines.
Possible line-mates for Wellman—subject to change if he is indeed placed on a wing—include All-Star wingers Mats Zuccarello and Audy-Marchessault, as well as 6-foot-4, 232-pound, winger, Andre Deveaux.
Wojtek Wolski, another recent addition to the Whale (through a two-week conditioning agreement), is also a possible line-mate for Wellman. It is also likely that Wellman will receive plenty of power-play time; given that the right-handed shooter has nine power-play tallies this season. Wellman is also 2-for-6 on shootout attempts this year.
It will be interesting to see how much of an impact Wellman will have on the Whale, whose offense has encountered a season of hot- and cold-streaks. The Whale could also use a push from experienced players like Wellman, with their playoff hopes taking a hard hit as the result of a winless January (0-6-5).
The Whale hopes to add Wellman to its line-up on Saturday, when they take on the always powerful Hershey Bears. Connecticut won its first game of 2012 on Friday against the Albany Devils on goals by Newbury, Wolski and Audy-Marchessault; and, obviously, the team would like to string together some more wins before the February 27 trading deadline—and they hope that Wellman will be a major part of their success moving forward.
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