Kyle Wellwood and his brother Eric Wellwood have an interesting connection to both hockey and Newfoundland. 

While Eric is the current coach of the Newfoundland Growlers, back in the “Baby Leafs” days when the Maple Leafs AHL franchise played from the old Memorial Stadium before heading off to Mile One Centre – now the Mary Brown’s Centre – Eric’s brother Kyle was one of the first players to lace up skates at Mile One. 

As the Growlers celebrated 30 years of professional hockey in St. John’s with a special ceremony held on April 10th, at centre ice at the Mary Brown’s Centre, former Baby Leaf Andrew McKim and former Growlers defenceman Adam Pardy joined Kyle as part of the ceremony in honour of current Growlers Governor and Chief Operating Officer Glenn Stanford, the common thread that has tied each of the AHL/ECHL franchises – from the Baby Leafs to the IceCaps to the Growlers – together.  Hockey via Stanford, has given many fans of the sport unique opportunities.

Like Wellwood, Pardy and McKim, Felix Potvin, Josh Morrissey, Don Beaupre, Mark Scheifele, Shawn Thornton, Morgan Rielly and D.J. Smith have all played for St. John’s at some point of their pro career. Having AHL/ECHL franchises here also allows talented homegrown players, like Growlers team captain James Melindy, to earn a living at pro hockey while playing in their own backyard.

Eric, the third head coach of the Newfoundland Growlers, has seen nothing but success since entering the team’s locker room in 2021 and as they make a run at this year’s Kelly Cup championship, Kyle is cheering them on. 

Ring of Honour

Kyle, who was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs 134th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, played his first three seasons in the NHL with Toronto before joining the Vancouver Canucks in 2008. 

He also played with the San Jose Sharks and the Winnipeg Jets, but when we spoke his thoughts were on his time spent in this province as a St. John’s Maple Leaf, and on his brother’s success with the Growlers in the ECHL. 

“I thought (the 30 years of hockey ceremony) was great. That Ring of Honour they introduced for the stadium in Glenn’s (Stanford) honour is such a great idea,” he opened. 

We ask the Ontario-born star about his enduring connection to this place and where it comes from.  It comes from the time he spent here, he begins, but it was always reinforced anytime he ran into players that had come from here. 

“Anytime I ran into hockey players that I played with in Newfoundland, or who were from Newfoundland, we always got along. I was fortunate that I played with Ryane Clowe (former head coach of the Growlers) so it was always nice to run into him. Because I lived here and felt this was such a special place, we had something to talk about.” 

When brother Eric was first offered the Growlers coaching position, one of the first calls made was to Kyle.  “I think it’s always difficult to try to take a job in a new city and people want to know, ‘what’s it like there?’ I just said ‘it’s one of the most fabulous places in the world and everybody’s so nice and down earth,’ and I know my brother’s really happy to have made the choice to come here.” 

Playoff time looms

Now, as playoff time looms large, we ask if it’s non-stop hockey talk between the brothers.  

“We do talk about hockey quite a bit, but Eric’s just been the really lucky guy in the family as he seems to win all the time and that’s not what happened in my career so you can just assume it’s going to happen again and he’ll win,” he laughed, referring to this year’s Kelly Cup. 

Reflecting on his own time here, Kyle shared it was “exciting.” 

“Mile One had just been built and it was a very nice atmosphere. The fans were so excited to have Baby Maple Leafs here and it was just first class all the way. We had a pretty good team and it was a really nice environment.” 

Kyle, like many others, shared that Stanford deserves so much credit for the success of hockey in this province.  

“You need to have someone to steer the ship and that’s been Glenn. Anyone you run into will have wonderful things to say about him. It’s really fortunate for St. John’s that he took an interest in pro hockey here.”

We ask if there’s any sporting highlight that stands out for him personally. He doesn’t hesitate. “The time I scored five goals one night in St. John’s. That was a fun night. My first goal with the Maple Leafs. Getting to play in the playoffs. Those are my fondest hockey memories.”

 When it comes to his brother’s career, Kyle says there’s still great things to come. “Eric has got a great personality and he has a great relationship with the guys and everybody is ready for the playoffs and they’re going to try to win. And I think that the city should be in for a great playoff run.”  

Grit. What separates the haves from the have nots in the world of sports. Sandpaper readies for the rigours of playoff hockey far more than feather pillows, and the Newfoundland Growlers have been worn and polished down to a fine suit of armour ahead of their return chase for the Kelly Cup.

No, it hasn’t been easy.

From very public arena conflicts, to a carousel of rotating goalies, a seemingly endless bout with the injury bug, and the passing of a man considered to be the joyous symbol of provincial hockey, it has been anything but a cakewalk. But pressure, and grit, makes champions.

“It felt like three seasons for us,” shared Coach Eric Wellwood in a sitdown with The Herald. “We started the year off on a road trip, which is fun. And then you come back and when we land, we find out we don’t have our arena … We were doing our work in either my house or the assistant coach’s house. And then in December a lot of guys got COVID, we lost a lot of guys to injuries and call ups. Our team was decimated. It has been a long year, to say the least. So we’re glad that it’s coming down to the end, and the real season starts.”

Adversity perhaps looks good on the Growlers, who, after being forced to sit out the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic (being forced to watch the Cup they never lost handed to another club), have bounced back to clinch a playoff berth, with numerous players hitting career highs.

‘Outrageous goals’

NL’s own Zach O’Brien has had a career year, with 78 points (as of press time). Orrin Centazzo, Jeremy McKenna, Tyler Boland and Marcus Power have been point per game players, with Ben Finkelstein banking over 50 points  (as a defenseman!).

“I always tell them I give them outrageous goals just because I want them  to think a little bit outside the box. Double your production from best you’ve ever had. You know, a guy like O’Brien, that’s very difficult because his best production year is like a 1.3 points per game, so to go to 2.6 is virtually impossible. But he can improve it, which he has. But then you can look at a guy like Todd Skirving who’s, not only the doubling his production, his most goals, he’s got 18 already. I don’t think he’s gotten more than 18 points in a season,” Wellwood shard proudly. 

“Yeah, I’m really, really happy with it. I thought this was a year that if we have our team for most of the year we could try to break records almost.”

Back from the inaugural Cup run are team anchors James Melindy, Zach O’Brien, Marcus Power, Derian Plouffe and Todd Skirving, all of whom Coach Wellwood will lean on to help guide a re-tooled roster of largely young and hungry Cup hopefuls. 

“We have a younger team than what’s been here in the past. So there was a lot of unknowns and of course, my staff never being in this league before, we don’t know what we were getting into ourselves. I knew we had a strong team and the potential to have a really strong team. And our goals were to be in first place,” shard Wellwood. 

“I think now, from what we’ve seen all year, I think you can be a lot more confident saying you have a real good chance of being champions. It’s still very difficult to do and a lot of things got to go your way as well. There’s some type of luck involved to some extent whether it’s not getting injured or whether that shot that hits the post and goes in or goes out could be the difference.

“Once you’ve been there, you know what it takes. And we’re lucky to have these guys on our team. You’re going to get into these big games and there are going to be key moments in the games and in the series, and you’re going to know how to handle it. You’re going to have adversity. It’s guaranteed. You could go down 2-0 in the series right away to start. If you’ve been there before, you just know that’s alright. It’s a new game and you have to win four out of seven. So it doesn’t matter if you lost three in a row, you still have to win four.”

Buddy the Puffin

Looming large over the Growlers forthcoming playoff run is the memory of the late, great, incomparable entertainer Chris Abbott, who fans knew and loved for three-decades as the man behind Buddy the Puffin. 

This run to the Cup, and all thereafter, are dedicated to his life and memory.

“We are playing for him now. If we do win, it’s for him,” Wellwood shared, impassioned. “Obviously that just adds a little bit more pressure. But at the same time, I think it’s something that you use. It’s not something that you want to have to use, because you’d much rather him be around for this. But at the end of the day, it all could be used for good. And we’re going to use his memory to get us through some of the tough spots that we’re going to find ourselves in when we’re going on this journey in the playoffs. 

“It’s extremely sad,” he adds sincerely. “I only got to know the man for (a few) months and I’m sure, like anybody else that knew him, he instantly had an impact on your life. Especially for the guys that have been here for a while and the guys that are from here, that’s a huge loss to the community. Not just the hockey world, but the whole community. An absolutely amazing person and it’s tough when you lose somebody like that. I guess the best thing that we can do under the circumstances is use that energy in a good way, and that’s what we’ll be doing. And we’re dedicating this run to him.”

For playoff tickets and more  information visit nlgrowlers.com

Who says you can’t go home again?

Nathan Noel’s dream to play professional hockey has seen the 24-year-old St. John’s native hit the ice across North America in roles demanding both leadership  and support, but Noel’s next assignment will see him return to The Rock to help a group of champions vie to regain a title they never lost.

‘A Great Opportunity’

Noel, a fourth round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016 and former QMJHL champion alongside the Saint John Sea Dogs, was amongst the earliest crop of signings for the 2021-22 St. John’s Growlers of the ECHL.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity, no doubt. And I’m just excited for it,” Noel shared in a one-on-one with The Herald ahead of November’s home opener.

“Right now my biggest concern is just getting back in the swing of things and getting playing in the pro-hockey circuit  and the Growlers have given me a great opportunity to do that. So I’m very thankful for that.”

Having spent his first three pro-seasons split between Chicago’s AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, and the ECHL – including stints with the Indy Fuel, Reading Royals and South Carolina Stingrays – Noel knows what it means to be an everyman on a roster. From grinder to scorer and locker room leader, he’s ready to take on many hats for the new-look Growlers. That includes blocking out any potential hometown noise and jitters.

“It’s like anything,  like any other game you go into. You gotta stick to what’s going to help your team win and that’s kind of where your head has got to be at. Your head can’t be anywhere else,” Noel adds.

“But obviously, it’s exciting. Whenever you have family and friends watching you, you want to do well for them, too, so obviously it’s a motivator, but at the same time it’s just hockey. You got to play for your teammates and you got to play in the coach’s system and find a role for yourself on the team.”

Another in the recent run of promising Newfoundlanders and Labradorian pro-hockey prospect – a list that includes Alex and Abby Newhook, Dawson Mercer, Maggie Connors, Evan Fitzpatrick, and Clark Bishop among countless others – Noel proudly waves the flag of his home province both on and off the ice, particularly when it comes to inspiring the next wave of NL’s young hockey hopefuls.

“I think that you want to make your province proud and I think you said it, you hit the nail on the head. Right now our province is producing a lot of high level players and it’s just good to see you, because obviously this is a new era of hockey,” Noel comments.

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Pandemic Downtime

“We haven’t seen a lot after Ryder and Cleary and all those guys, Teddy Purcell, Ryane Clowe, all those great NHL players who we grew up watching. Then there was a bit of a taper off for a few years. So it’s great to see that there could be a push for more Newfoundlanders in the NHL, which is obviously great to see and great for the province, because it’s good for our young here because they get to watch. They get to watch and realize that the dream is real, and that’s really the biggest thing is inspiring them.”

Noel, much like the glut of professional athletes who found themselves waylaid by the COVID-19 pandemic, took the downtime as an opportunity to retool his game and body, crediting much of his rehab and growth to trainer Ryan Power of Power Conditioning Inc.

“I mean it’s tough, obviously, when you’re not in the normal routine. But I was able to keep working out and keep running and doing conditioning, and I feel good going into this year,” Noel explained, sharing that while he’s missed the competitive nature of the game, his training alongside Power has proved to be instrumental in readying him for his run with the Growlers.

“That’s where Ryan Power comes in. He’s really helped me. My body feels a hundred per cent right now and he’s the trainer here in St. John’s for a lot of the guys here. One name you’d know is Alex Newhook. He trains him and a lot of us guys and Maggie Connors.

“I think that for me personally, he’s helped me a lot to kind of put my body back together. And you need that. Hockey isn’t exactly the easiest on the body. You need to rebuild your body in the offseason. He’s the best at that. He’s great. So all the credit to him for how my body feels right now after being away from the game for so long.”

And while Noel has built his body and mind to aid the Growlers in a legitimate run in the 2021-22 season, he’s also aware of the opportunity that comes with signing in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, of which the Growlers are a proud affiliate.

“It’s outstanding. It’s first class and you hear so many good things,” Noel shared of the Leafs’ developmental system. 

‘Defending Champs’

“So really I’m just excited to get going. It’s a dream come true to be a part of Toronto. They were kind of in my family. There was always a Leafs game on growing up, so it’s pretty cool to be able to be a part of that organization.”

Playing alongside fellow Newfoundlander and captain James Melindy, ex-Kelly cup-runmates Derian Plouffe, Todd Skirving, Garrett Johnston, as well as the possibility of ice-time with newly minted Toronto Marlies and fellow Newfoundlanders Zach O’Brien and Marcus Power, and Noel is well aware that the Growlers, under new head coach Eric Wellwood, could be well primed for a legitimate run at Kelly Cup glory once more.

“I’m just happy to be a part of it,” he shared proudly. 

“I mean, like you said, they’re defending champs in the league, the Newfoundland Growlers and they got guys coming back. I played with Derian Plouffe and Marcus Power, Zach O’Brien, James Melindy. All these guys coming back are all Champions in the league, so I just want to kind of try to find my role on the team wherever that may be, and help the team win.”

For tickets and more information on all things Newfoundland Growlers visit nlgrowlers.com

The vacancy of the head coaching position left in the wake of the exit of Kelly Cup winner John Snowden loomed large for the Newfoundland Growlers ahead of the 2020-21 season. 

  Eric Wellwood, a pro-player turned rising coach in North America, just may be the man to fill those lofty shoes.

Brother of former St. John’s Maple Leaf and NHL vet Kyle Wellwood, Eric’s on ice career – which included two straight Memorial Cup victories with his hometown Windsor Spitfires and over three-dozen games with the Philadelphia Flyers – was tragically cut short by-way of a freak accident on April 7, 2013. 

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Transitioning from the ice to the bench, and Wellwood would become a sought-after coach in his own right, first as an assistant with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, and later as an assistant and then head coach of the Flint Firebirds, where he would lead the club to their franchise best season. 

Taking up head coaching duties with the ECHL’s Growlers, we sat down with the 31-year-old prospect of the game, talking life after the ice, his connection to Newfoundland and Labrador, lofty expectations and much more! This, is coach’s playbook with Eric Wellwood.

DISCOVERING THE ROCK 

I was (in St. John’s) for a week playing the Marlies when I played. But I mean I’ve been to a lot of cities where I see hotel rooms and I see the arena and that’s about it. Other than that, I guess my wife, every single day for the past six years, she shows me Gros Morne National Park because we like to go hiking every once in a while. That’s the other thing I know and obviously now I’ve been doing a little bit more research on the province, but I can’t say that I really know it.

REGAINING THE KELLY CUP

Yeah, I think making the decision that (regaining a title the team never lost) factored in. I think it’s always difficult. Like for instance, when I took over in Flint, I think the only thing that you could have was success with how bad it had been at that particular time. So the pressure wasn’t really there. It was more time where I can just get to know myself as a coach, which I think takes time, where this situation is the polar opposite. 

You know, going to the former champion team, I’m suspecting we’ll have a good team again as well to try to defend that. But that’s the challenge that I was looking for. I think the city, it’s nice to be in an organization and a city that expects to win. I was apart of that in Windsor. Not my first year, but our second year winning the Memorial Cup, we essentially had basically the same nucleus going back. And you had that expectation that we’re going to go win again. And I think it’s a privilege to have that pressure and I’m fortunate that I get to live in that moment again.

FROM PLAYER TO COACH

I think as I get older … and I mean, I’m still very young, so it’s not like I have a lot of life experience. But I have noticed, especially since I became the head coach of Flint, when I went into the dressing room the very first time and it felt like, not to sound morbid, but I’ve been to funerals that are more lively. These kids were just devastated. To see the impact that you can have to provide a positive experience for them. I still keep in touch with a lot of my players. And I think as I’ve been getting older, I appreciate it a lot more.

And I think when I first got into coaching I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life. I think I was so focused on just being a hockey player. And like you said, it just got taken away from you instantaneously. You didn’t go out on your own accord, or you didn’t have an impact on it in the sense of if you weren’t playing well enough then you just lose your job. That would be on you. And I’d have to live with that.

So when it all happened, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life … But I think as I’m getting older, I’m appreciating it a lot more, the impact it can have on these people. I don’t really look at them as hockey players, I look at them as people that are trying to accomplish something that’s extremely difficult to do. And you know, to be a part of that process in a positive way, I think it’s a lot more fulfilling in my life than it was doing it as a player.

THE LEAFS ORGANIZATION

Well, I guess it’s obvious. It’s great to be a part of it and it’s great to be a part of people that in my mind are willing to take risks. I think you are taking a risk here. At times people will just take somebody with experience because of that experience and that’s a safe bet. 

I’m not sure how much you know, but the Windsor Spitfire job was up, which is my hometown team that I played for and grew up watching and I was in the running for that job. And when this opportunity came I took myself out of the Windsor job, which is something that in my lifetime I hope I get to do just because I realize this is a better spot to be. And it’s an opportunity where they really help people grow. And that’s all I’m looking for.

I’m not looking to advance my career. I don’t really have aspirations to get anywhere other than just helping the guys. But I guess my aspirations are personal growth. And this is an organization that really puts an emphasis on that. And that’s exactly what I wanted to be a part of. So I feel very fortunate that they took a risk on me, and hopefully their risk pays off.

RETURNING FAVOURITES

In the minor league pros there’s so much turnaround. To have the same nucleus come back, they already know what it takes to get to the top of the mountain. They’re great people. It’s no surprise to me how they got to the top, just the brief conversations that I’ve had with them and the interactions that I’ve had with them. And I think it’s extremely important. 

They know the city. They can help the younger guys that are coming down to us, whoever they may be, and help me get those individuals to the next level and help that individual. So I think it’s extremely important that these guys are back and I’m looking forward to working with them.

THE WELLWOOD FAMILY

We obviously became a hockey family. But my parents don’t really watch it unless we’re the ones playing. They don’t know anybody on the roster too much. They don’t really pay attention to that. We had a backyard rink that my dad would build. Now, that wasn’t for us to become hockey players, that was just because we grew up in the county and had the space. And you know, why not? We definitely didn’t grow up in a hockey family. We didn’t grow up in a family that pushed us, I should say. 

I think we fell in love with the game at our backyard rink. And I don’t want to say hockey is my love. I think sport and competition is my love. It just so happened that hockey was a sport that I chose and I think I could say the same about my brother. 

SEASON EXPECTATIONS

I know where I want this team to go. And I just always have that at the forefront of my mind. Every day it’s just working towards that goal, and I got to learn that lesson becoming a pro-hockey player, because I had to do it the hard way. I was in Windsor. I didn’t make it my first year drafted. I got to play halfway through but as a fourth liner. The next year, again, I played a fourth line role, did not get drafted.

Oddly enough I did get an invite to the Maple Leafs training camp, so I did participate in that. I knew that I wanted to get to the NHL and I knew that was the goal. And it’s little steps every day that you try to take towards that goal. 

You can’t run a marathon until you run the first mile and then the second mile and so on. And just having that realization that we want to bring the team to a certain point and to a certain competitive level and get to where we want to get to. But that’s what you’re working towards every single day and just know that you can’t get there tomorrow. Even if you do think that you’re there, that you never arrive until you actually arrive and you’ll know when you arrive. And that’s when the season’s over, hopefully you’re the last team standing.

For tickets and more information on all things Newfoundland Growlers visit nlgrowlers.com