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NAHL North Iowa Bulls

North Iowa Alumnus Lucas Wahlin Commits to St. Thomas

October 28, 2021 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
North Iowa Bulls News Release


Former North Iowa Bulls forward Lucas Wahlin
Former North Iowa Bulls forward Lucas Wahlin
(North Iowa Bulls)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The North Iowa Bulls, proud members of the North American Hockey League, are excited to announce that alumnus and forward Lucas Wahlin has committed to the University of St. Thomas, an NCAA Division I institution and a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. He becomes the 10th player from the team's Tier III era to reach the NCAA Division I level, and will join the previous man on that list, forward Aaron Swanson, on the Tommies' roster next season.

The former Hill-Murray High School standout has now made an impact at every level of American junior hockey, spending 2019-20 in Mason City with the Bulls before climbing to the NAHL last season with the Kenai River Brown Bears. This season, he's made the jump again, appearing in all nine of the Lincoln Stars' USHL contests and posting three points.

"We are very excited that Lucas Wahlin has achieved his goal of earning an NCAA Division I opportunity with the University of St. Thomas," said North Iowa head coach and general manager Todd Sanden. "Lucas is one of the hardest-working and most determined players I have coached. We wish Lucas all the best, and hope that he succeeds in his academic and hockey endeavors at UST."

Wahlin posted 41 points over 57 varsity games at Hill-Murray, helping the Pioneers reach the state tournament as a junior in 2018 and posting better than a point a game the following season as a senior. He also excelled as a lacrosse player, earning honorable mention all-conference honors as a junior and even leading his team in assists as a freshman.

He first appeared on the junior hockey radar in the 2019 NAHL Draft, with the Topeka Pilots taking him in the sixth round that summer. However, he made North Iowa his first stop in junior hockey, posting 32 goals and 59 points in a West Division championship season. He wasted no time igniting the Bulls' offense, posting two goals against Breezy Point in his very first junior game. He bookended that season with a four-goal weekend against Granite City, and spent eight games in the NAHL that season with the Jamestown Rebels and Kenai River Brown Bears, signing a tender with Kenai River in late January.

The Woodbury, Minnesota native spent 2020-21 with the Brown Bears, playing under current North Iowa associate head coach and general manager Kevin Murdock. COVID-related restrictions on travel and gatherings in Alaska forced the team to remain in the Lower 48 until mid-April, and the team would return to Minnesota a month later for its Robertson Cup playoff run. Through the tumult, Wahlin was as solid as ever, notching 27 points in 44 games, and earning an NAHL Top Prospects nod at year's end. His nine postseason points - a point-per-game pace - helped the Brown Bears earn their first-ever postseason series win over the Janesville Jets, and come within a game of the Robertson Cup tournament.

He joins a St. Thomas team that is completing a climb of its own, going directly from the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to the CCHA this season under longtime Miami of Ohio head coach Rico Blasi.

"St. Thomas stuck out to me with the unbelievable coaching staff that they have," said Wahlin. "Coach Blasi has built championship teams in the past, and I know he has the capability of doing it again at St. Thomas. The coaching staff at St.

Thomas believes that I can be a key role player for them throughout my four years there, and I'll have plenty of chances to prove to the CCHA what I can do." The North Iowa Bulls congratulate Lucas Wahlin on his commitment to the University of St. Thomas, and wish him continued success in his athletic and academic career.

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Former North Iowa Bulls forward Lucas Wahlin
Former North Iowa Bulls forward Lucas Wahlin
   



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