Worcester Railers HC Acquire Defenseman Connor Welsh for 2023-24 Season
September 6, 2023 - ECHL (ECHL) - Worcester Railers HC News Release
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester Railers Hockey Club (@RailersHC), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the New York Islanders (@NYIslanders), and General Manager and Head Coach Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Connor Welsh from the Trois-Rivieres Lions for cash considerations the 2023-24 season.
Welsh, 25, comes to Worcester for his second full professional season. The Halifax, NS native played in 63 games for the Trois-Rivieres Lions during the 2022-23 season, recording 20 points (2-18-20) and 22 penalty minutes. Welsh first joined the Lions for 11 games late in the 2021-22 season following his final year at Dalhousie University, where he played in three seasons from 2018-19 to 2021-22 for the Rams.
"We are very excited to add the experience and talent that Connor Welsh will bring to our team and backend," Railers assistant coach Bob Deraney said. He is a very well rounded defenseman that naturally plays the way we want our D to play, mobile, an in your face defender and dynamic offensively."
The 5'7", 154lb defenseman spent two seasons in the British Columbia Hockey League, splitting time between the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the Trail Smoke Eaters. In 113 BCHL games, Welsh had 55 points (17-38-55) to go with 38 penalty minutes.
"I'm really excited for the fresh opportunity," Welsh said. "From playing hockey to living in Worcester, I can't wait to get down there."
The Railers have announced twenty players officially signed for the 2023-24 season as Welsh joins Myles Abbate, Todd Goehring, Ryan Verrier, Andrei Bakanov, John Copeland, Zach White, Quinn Ryan, Christian Evers, Brendan Robbins, Mike Higgins, Blake Christensen, Blade Jenkins, Max Johnson, Nick Fea, Artyom Kulakov, Anthony Callin, Keeghan Howdeshell, Adam Goodsir, and Anthony Repaci as the twenty signees. More announcements are expected over the coming weeks.
The Worcester Railers HC 2023-24 Opening Weekend at the DCU Center is Sat., Oct. 21st and Sun., Oct. 22nd vs. the Adirondack Thunder & Trois-Rivieres Lions. Season memberships, mini-plans, and group packages for the 2023-24 season are on sale now by calling the Railers front office at 508-365-1750 or by visiting RailersHC.com.
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