WHL Portland Winterhawks

Hawks Alums Wellar, Purner Capture Calder Cup Championship with Hershey

June 22, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Portland Winterhawks would like to congratulate alumni Patrick Wellar and Adam Purner on winning the Calder Cup championship with the Hershey Bears, American Hockey League affiliate of the Washington Capitals.

Wellar, 39, completed his fifth season serving as an assistant coach for the Bears. The Carrot River, Sask. native helped coach the Bears to a 44-19-5-4 record during the AHL Regular Season and a 14-6 record in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Drafted by the Winterhawks in the third round of the 1998 WHL Prospects Draft, Wellar played 129 games in the Rose City and scored 27 points. He went on to play six seasons for the Bears from 2008 to 2014 and he even won the Calder Cup as a player with Hershey in 2010 - the Bears' last championship victory prior to the 2022-23 season. In total, Wellar skated in 747 career professional games, winning four league championships, before beginning his coaching tenure full-time ahead of the 2016-17 season.

Purner enjoyed a championship season during his first year working as a video coach in Hershey. He spent the last two seasons working with the New Jersey Devils' AHL affiliate and won a silver medal with Team USA at the Women's World Championship in 2022.

The Glens Falls, NY native previously worked for the Winterhawks as their video coach from 2015 to 2020 before advancing to the American Hockey League.

The Winterhawks would also like to congratulate alumnus Joe Mahon who served on the officiating crew as a linesman during Wednesday's deciding game.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from June 22, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central