Mitch Wahl

Mitch Wahl (born January 22, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played with Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was selected in the second round (48th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames.

Mitch Wahl
Born (1990-01-22) January 22, 1990
Seal Beach, California, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 199 lb (90 kg; 14 st 3 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Right
team
Former teams		 Free Agent
Abbotsford Heat
Hamilton Bulldogs
Adirondack Phantoms
EC Red Bull Salzburg
Utica Comets
IK Oskarshamn
Ilves
Västerviks IK
HC TWK Innsbruck
EC KAC
HC '05 Banská Bystrica
Fischtown Pinguins
Schwenninger Wild Wings
NHL Draft 48th overall, 2008
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2010–present

Wahl played four years of junior hockey with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL), winning the WHL championship and Memorial Cup in 2008. He was named a First Team All-Star by the WHL in 2009–10 before turning professional at the conclusion of his junior season. He was a member of the American junior team at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Personal

Wahl grew up in Seal Beach, California. His parents, Mitch Sr. and Michelle, knew little about hockey but enrolled him in the sport after he showed an aptitude for skating during a birthday party for his elder sister.[1] He began playing at the age of six, and credits the arrival of Wayne Gretzky with the Los Angeles Kings for creating opportunities for himself and other players in southern California.[2] Wahl is also an avid surfer.[1]

Playing career

Wahl played minor hockey with the California Wave, and caught the attention of WHL scouts while playing in tournaments in Vancouver, Kamloops and Medicine Hat.[2] He was selected in the first round, fourth overall, by the Spokane Chiefs in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft.[3] After appearing in two games with the Chiefs in 2005–06, Wahl joined the team full-time in 2006–07, scoring 16 goals and 48 points in 69 games.[4] He improved to 73 points in 2007–08, and added 14 points in 21 playoff games as the Chiefs won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions.[4][5] At the 2008 Memorial Cup tournament, Wahl scored six points in four games to help the Chiefs win the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) championship.[6]

Wahl's success attracted the attention of the Calgary Flames, who selected him with their second pick, 48th overall, at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.[6] He also joined the United States men's national junior ice hockey team for the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, scoring four points for the fifth place Americans.[7] He finished the 2008–09 WHL season with 32 goals and 63 points.[4] In 2009–10, he finished sixth in league scoring with 96 points and was named a First Team All-Star by the WHL. He ended his WHL career in sixth place all-time in scoring for the Chiefs with 284 points and third all-time in assists with 186. The team also named him one of the top 25 players in their first 25 seasons.[8] Upon the conclusion of his WHL season, Wahl joined the Flames's AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat. He played in four regular season games, scoring a goal and three assists, and remained with the team into the 2010 Calder Cup playoffs.[9]

He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on February 25, 2013 for Mike Testwuide.[10] The Flyers did not tender him a qualifying offer in the off-season, making him an unrestricted free agent.

On August 5, 2013, Wahl signed his first European contract as a free agent, agreeing to a one-year deal with Austrian club, EC Red Bull Salzburg of the EBEL.[11]

On June 25, 2014, Wahl agreed to a one-year contract with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.[12] After producing 59 points in 53 games with the Everblades in the 2014–15 season, Wahl returned to Europe to sign a one-year contract with Swedish second division club, IK Oskarshamn of the Allsvenskan on July 1, 2015.[13]

On May 27, 2022, Wahl continued his European journeyman career, agreeing to a one-year contract to remain in Germany with the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the DEL for the 2022–23 season.[14] Wahl made 22 regular season appearances with the Wild Wings, collecting 1 goals and 6 points. Unable to help Schwenninger advance to the post-season, it was announced Wahl would leave the club at the conclusion of his contract on March 9, 2022.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Spokane Chiefs WHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2006–07 Spokane Chiefs WHL 69 16 32 48 40 4 0 1 1 5
2007–08 Spokane Chiefs WHL 67 20 53 73 63 21 6 8 14 20
2008–09 Spokane Chiefs WHL 63 32 35 67 78 12 2 11 13 6
2009–10 Spokane Chiefs WHL 72 30 66 96 96 7 4 5 9 8
2009–10 Abbotsford Heat AHL 4 1 3 4 0 12 2 4 6 4
2010–11 Abbotsford Heat AHL 17 1 4 5 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 38 20 20 40 95 3 0 0 0 2
2011–12 Abbotsford Heat AHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 22 2 3 5 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 45 19 40 59 115 4 0 2 2 2
2012–13 Abbotsford Heat AHL 6 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
2012–13 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 15 1 3 4 6 — — — — —
2013–14 EC Red Bull Salzburg EBEL 5 0 1 1 9 — — — — —
2013–14 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 65 17 39 56 160 10 0 1 1 23
2013–14 Utica Comets AHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Florida Everblades ECHL 53 15 44 59 94 8 3 3 6 6
2015–16 IK Oskarshamn Allsv 52 27 13 40 77 5 1 2 3 0
2016–17 Ilves Liiga 16 1 3 4 10 — — — — —
2016–17 Västerviks IK Allsv 23 6 8 14 18 — — — — —
2016–17 IK Oskarshamn Allsv 8 1 5 6 16 — — — — —
2017–18 HC TWK Innsbruck EBEL 45 16 38 54 117 6 1 4 5 6
2018–19 EC KAC EBEL 54 19 23 42 10 15 2 5 7 4
2019–20 HC '05 Banská Bystrica Slovak 10 6 3 9 4 — — — — —
2019–20 Eispiraten Crimmitschau DEL2 34 12 22 34 66 — — — — —
2020–21 Fischtown Pinguins DEL 28 7 12 19 18 3 2 0 2 8
2021–22 Fischtown Pinguins DEL 17 2 0 2 12 — — — — —
2021–22 EC Kassel Huskies DEL2 34 15 22 37 55 7 1 3 4 2
2022–23 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 22 1 5 6 10 — — — — —
AHL totals 71 6 13 19 24 12 2 4 6 4

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 United States WJC 5th 6 1 3 4 2
Junior totals 6 1 3 4 2

Awards and honors
Award Year
Junior
CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2008 [16]
WHL First All-Star Team 2009–10 [17]

References
  1. Hall, Vicki (2010-04-24). "Flames prospect will surf gym more instead of beach". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  2. King, Patrick (2007-10-19). "A Wahl of a player". Rogers Sportsnet. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  3. Flett, Cory; Watts, Jessie (eds.). 2009–10 WHL Guide. Western Hockey League. p. 126.
  4. Hanlon, Peter; Kelso, Sean (2009). 2009–10 Calgary Flames Media Guide (PDF). Calgary Flames Hockey Club. p. 127.
  5. "Spokane Chiefs earn berth in the MasterCard Memorial Cup". Canadian Hockey League. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  6. "Surfs up in Calgary". Canadian Press. 2008-06-21. Archived from the original on 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  7. "2009 WJHC Statistics" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  8. "Wahl, Beach move on". SWXRN. 2010-04-02. Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  9. Hennessy, Kristi (2010-04-21). "Wahl shows skills in the AHL". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  10. "Flames acquire Mike Testwuide from Philadelphia". Calgary Flames. February 25, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  11. "Mitch Wahl reinforces Salzburg". EC Red Bull Salzburg (in German). 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  12. "Everblades agree to terms with Wahl". ECHL. 2014-06-25. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  13. "Offensive forward Mitch Wahl to OIK" (in Swedish). IK Oskarshamn. 2015-07-01. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  14. "Wild Wings sign center Mitch Wahl" (in German). Schwenninger Wild Wings. May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  15. "Final talks bring first changes" (in German). Schwenninger Wild Wings. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  16. Memorial Cup All-Star Teams Archived 2016-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
  17. "WHL announces 2009–10 Conference All-Star teams and award finalists". Western Hockey League. 2010-03-18. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
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