Three weeks before the Maine Mariners hit the ice for their first training camp, the team has an additional connection to the National Hockey League and a new player with local ties.
The Mariners are the ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers, but will also welcome a prospect or two from the Montreal Canadiens, whose three-year agreement with the ECHL Brampton Beast ended last week when Brampton instead aligned with the Ottawa Senators.
Montreal’s American Hockey League affiliate is the Laval (Quebec) Rocket, based in a suburb of Montreal. Danny Briere, Maine’s vice president of operations, confirmed that the Canadiens may send a few players to Portland, but stressed that the Mariners are officially affiliated only with the Rangers.
Terrence Wallin
“We might get one or two guys from Laval, depending on how the year goes,” said Mariners Coach Riley Armstrong. “But the Rangers are our main affiliation and we look to get players from them.”
Among the 25 players Armstrong expects to see in training camp beginning Oct. 2 at Troubh Arena is Terrence Wallin, acquired in a trade announced Tuesday afternoon from the Adirondack Thunder. In exchange for Wallin, the Mariners gave up defenseman Matias Cleland.
Wallin, 26, grew up outside of Philadelphia but makes his summer home in Kennebunk. A 6-foot, 181-pound forward, he has three ECHL seasons under his belt since finishing up a four-year career at UMass-Lowell in 2015. He played in four AHL games with Binghamton last season.
“We were searching for another forward to round off our roster,” Armstrong said. “He’s going to help our team immensely coming into the first season.”
Wallin had 21 goals and 29 assists in 59 games for Adirondack last season and spent much of the previous winter with Rapid City (12 goals, 19 assists in 47 games), another ECHL team.
“I had wanted to come to Maine,” Wallin said Tuesday afternoon. “I kind of made it a priority to play closer to home.”
Wallin said his parents live in Avon, Connecticut, but plan to retire in Maine. Four years ago they bought a condominium in Wells and over the summer acquired a house in Kennebunk.
He described the previous 24 hours as a whirlwind of emotion.
“I loved Adirondack,” he said. “It’s a beautiful place to play and they have great fans. But Portland is another great hockey town and I’m excited to be a part of it. Especially with a new franchise, we get to make our own legacy.”
In college, Wallin helped Lowell reach the 2013 Frozen Four. He also played in Orono. Tuesday, however, marked his first venture inside Cross Insurance Arena, where the Mariners will play beginning Oct. 13.
“It was just really nice that I could go in to the arena (Tuesday),” he said. “It was cool to see the locker room and everything.”
Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or
Twitter: GlennJordanPPH
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