Ex-Ducks Defenseman Signs In Germany

American defenseman Andy Welinski, 31, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season with Löwen Frankfurt, the German DEL club announced on Friday.

“After 10 seasons in North America, playing in the NHL and AHL, Frankfurt was the opportunity I’ve been waiting for,” said Welinski. “I’m excited to bring my talent to a new team, experience top-tier European hockey, explore Germany and meet with old and new friends.”

A resident of Duluth, Minn. and a graduate of the local University of Minnesota Duluth, where he captained the Bulldogs hockey team his senior year, Welinski was taken in the third round, 83rd overall, by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Between 2017 and 2021, Welinski played 46 NHL regular-season games and three playoff games, all with the Ducks, scoring one goal and adding five assists and eight penalty minutes. He spent the rest of the time in the AHL, mostly with the San Diego Gulls but also with the farm clubs of the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers.

Welinski began this season with the Utica Comets, the AHL farm team of the New Jersey Devils, where he had one assist in eight games.

“He is a very experienced and clever defenseman,” Tom Rowe, Frankfurt head coach and former NHL player, coach and executive said about Welinski. “He has a good understanding of the game and will stabilize our defensive core. He’s looking forward to Frankfurt and his first stop in Europe.”

Welinski is due to arrive in Frankfurt on Saturday and will wear uniform number 3.

Frankfurt currently sits seventh in the 14-team DEL with 32 points in 20 games. Other players of note on the roster are long-time NHL goalie Thomas Greiss and 19-year-old Detroit Red Wings prospect Kevin Bicker. Dominik Bokk, the St. Louis Blues’ first-round pick in 2018, is also on the team but is out long-term with a lower-body injury.