Eric Wellwood (born March 6, 1990) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and current head coach for the

Newfoundland Growlers The Newfoundland Growlers are a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team began play in the 2018–19 ECHL season and have home games at Mary Brown's Centre. They are membe ...

in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. He played parts of three

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) seasons with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. He is the younger brother of

Kyle Wellwood Kyle Wellwood (born May 16, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs 134th overall in the 2001 NHL E ...

Playing career

Wellwood was drafted by the

in the sixth round (172nd overall) of the

2009 NHL Entry Draft The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns select ...

. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers on March 4, 2010, after playing four seasons of junior hockey with the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

, with whom he helped win two straight Memorial Cup championships in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Wellwood was called up from the

Adirondack Phantoms The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and w ...

on November 1, 2010, in the wake of Flyers forward

Danny Briere Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

's three-game suspension and made his NHL debut against the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

on a line with

James van Riemsdyk James van Riemsdyk ( ; born May 4, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Between 2012 and 2018, he played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Van Riemsdyk w ...

and

Mike Richards Michael Richards (born 1949) is an American actor best known for playing Cosmo Kramer in ''Seinfeld''. Michael Richards or Mike Richards may also refer to the following people: Arts and entertainment *Mike Richards (television personality) (born ...

. Wellwood recorded his first NHL point on November 6 against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

, assisting on Andreas Nodl's game-winning goal at 14:35 of the third period. During the

2011 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 13, 2011, after the conclusion of the 2010–11 NHL regular season. The first game of the Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins was held on June ...

, the Flyers called up Wellwood and a few other players, but he did not dress for a game. Wellwood scored his first NHL goal February 18, 2012, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, an unassisted goal against Marc-Andre Fleury. On April 7, 2013, during an AHL game, Wellwood was injured after his left skate accidentally cut the back of his right leg after falling awkwardly into the boards. His achilles tendon was 70 percent severed and three additional tendons were completely severed. Wellwood was expected to miss nine months. Wellwood then retired after missing the entire 2013–14 season.

Coaching career

While rehabbing from his April 2013 injury, he served as a volunteer coach with the

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) during the 2013–14 season. After retiring from playing, he was hired as an assistant coaching position with the OHL's

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

from 2014 to 2016. On May 20, 2016, Wellwood was named assistant coach for the OHL's

Flint Firebirds The Flint Firebirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. The team plays home games at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center, and operates as a member of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team began play for the 2 ...

and was promoted to head coach on October 18, 2018, after the Firebirds had opened the season 0–9. In the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

-shortened 2019–20 season, he led the Firebirds to their best record before the pandemic curtailed the season. The 2020–21 season was then cancelled and Wellwood chose to not renew his contract with the Firebirds in May 2021. In August 2021, he was hired as the head coach of the

in the

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellwood, Eric 1990 births Adirondack Phantoms players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Flint Firebirds coaches Ice hockey people from Ontario Living people Memorial Cup winners Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Sportspeople from Windsor, Ontario Windsor Spitfires players Canadian ice hockey coaches