The New Jersey Devils and President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald announced today that the team has signed defenseman Andy Welinski to a Professional Tryout contract (PTO). Welinski will join New Jersey when all veterans report to training camp on September 18.
Welinski, 31, spent last season with Iowa (3g-7a-10pts in 27 games) and Charlotte (0g-0a-0pts in eight games) in the American Hockey League. In 319 career regular-season AHL games, from 2015-16 to 2023-24, Welinski has totaled 42 goals and 110 assists for 152 points with 119 penalty minutes. Welinski, a veteran AHL player, has played for San Diego, Lehigh Valley, Stockton, Hartford, Rockford and Iowa over nine seasons. In 2018, he represented San Diego at the AHL All-Star Game. The 6’1”, 200lbs. defenseman has appeared in 46 career NHL games (1g-5a-6pts), all with Anaheim. The Ducks selected him in the third round, 83rd overall in the 2011 NHL Draft.
Born on April 27, 1993, Welinski played four seasons of collegiate hockey with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, 2012-13 to 2015-2016, serving as captain his senior season. While with the Bulldogs, he was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2013, and was twice named a member of the NCHC Second All-Star Team in 2015 and 2016. Before his time with UMD, he played two seasons with Green Bay (USHL), where in 2011-12, he was named USHL Defenseman of the Year, and to the First All-Star Team, as the Gamblers won the Clark Cup.
