Andy Welinski to Captain 2015-16 Bulldogs

To the surprise of -- probably -- no one, Duluth native Andy Welinski has been named captain of the 2015-16 UMD men's hockey team.

Official word:

Defenseman Andy Welinski has been promoted to the University of Minnesota Duluth's team captain position for the 2015-16 season while a trio of fellow seniors -- forwards Tony Cameranesi, Cal Decowski and Austin Farley -- will serve assistant captaincy roles with the Bulldogs.

As a minutes-munching assistant team captain last winter, Welinski set career highs for goals (nine -- a number bettered by only one other National Collegiate Hockey Conference blueliner), points (21) and plus-minus (+2) en route to securing a spot on the All-NCHC second team. In addition, the Anaheim Ducks draft pick generated the second most shots (100) of any league defensman and was one of just five rear guards to score shorthanded. Welinski, a Duluth native and 2012-13 Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Rookie Team selection, has finished as UMD's top scoring point man in each of the three previous seasons and will head into his senior year with 58 lifetime points (18 goals and 40 assists) to his credit.

Cameranesi, who like Welinski has skated in all 114 games since joining the UMD program two years ago and is also a National Hockey League draftee (Toronto Maple Leafs), paced the Bulldogs in scoring for the second time in three years this past season, racking up nine goals and 21 assists for 30 points. Farley was three slots back on the team's scoring charts with 24 points (eight goals and 16 assists) and tied for the team lead in both power play goals (4) and game-winners (3) while Decowski, UMD's 2014-15 nominee for the NCHC Sportsmanship Award, chipped in a personal-best 16 points as a junior. That trio took shifts in each of UMD's 40 outings this past season.  

I talked to Welinski after UMD's heart-breaking loss to Boston University in the NCAA Northeast Regional (I'm still not in a frame of mind to further discuss the events of that game). At the time, he was deciding between returning for his senior season or joining the Anaheim Ducks organization (they drafted him in 2011). He played both sides well, noting that he's always wanted to play pro hockey, but his time at UMD was a dream come true, and it would be an unbelievable honor to wear the "C."

In the end, the draw of captaining his hometown team, and the sting of last year's bitter ending in Manchester, won out for Welinski. It wasn't surprising. He told me he decided after the BU game that he wanted to return, but he knew he was emotional at the time and needed to think about it and weigh everything before deciding.

After so narrowly missing out on a trip to Boston (and I firmly believe UMD would have been a factor and not just window dressing at the Frozen Four), Welinski and assistant captains Cameranesi, Decowski, and Farley hope to lead the Bulldogs to the 2016 Frozen Four in Tampa.

Can't think of a better way to go out than that.