Noah Welch
| Noah Welch | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 26, 1982 Brighton, MA, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb) |
| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Left |
| SEL team Former teams |
Växjö Lakers Pittsburgh Penguins Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning Atlanta Thrashers Winnipeg Jets HV71 (SEL) |
| NHL Draft | 54th overall, 2001 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
Noah Paul Welch (born August 26, 1982) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who currently plays for Växjö Lakers in the Swedish elite league Elitserien (SEL).
Playing career
Welch was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, chosen 54th overall in the 2nd round. Noah was the captain of the Harvard University Hockey team, graduating in 2005. Before his college career at Harvard he played high school hockey at St. Sebastian's School in Needham, Massachusetts.
Welch made his NHL debut in the latter stages of the 2005–2006 season for the Penguins in a victory over the NY Islanders picking up his first NHL point with an assist. In his next game against the Montreal Canadiens, having replaced the suspended Eric Cairns, he suffered a nightmare start, scoring in his own net, but made amends by scoring his first NHL goal in the third period against the team he always cheered against as a child and Boston Bruins fan. In total he scored four points (one goal, three assists) in five games. He was named to the AHL 2007 All-Star game, representing the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
On February 27, 2007, Welch was traded by the Penguins to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Gary Roberts.[1] After two seasons with the Panthers, Welch was traded along with a third round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenceman Steve Eminger.[2] A short time after that, he instead signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Thrashers.[3]
For season 2011–12, Welch signed a one-year contract with the Swedish team HV71 in the Swedish elite league Elitserien (SEL).[4] He scored 10 points in 51 games. In May 2012 he signed a one-year contract with the SEL team Växjö Lakers.[5]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2001–02 | Harvard University | ECAC | 27 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Harvard University | ECAC | 34 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Harvard University | ECAC | 34 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Harvard University | ECAC | 34 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 77 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 99 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | ||
| 2005–06 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 27 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2010–11 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 50 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 75 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team | 2001–02 | |
| All-ECAC Hockey Second Team | 2002–03 | |
| ECAC All-Conference Honorable Mention | 2004 | |
| All-ECAC Hockey First Team | 2004–05 | |
| East First All-American Team | 2005 | |
Personal life
Welch decided to donate his brain to concussion research at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at the Boston University School of Medicine after his death.[6] He has a degree in government from Harvard.[7] In the summer of 2011, Welch married teammate Paul Postma's sister Alissa Postma.
References
- ↑ "Panthers trade Roberts to Penguins". The Sports Network. 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
- ↑ "Jay Bouwmeester stays; Panthers acquire Steve Eminger from Tampa Bay". palmbeachpost.com. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ↑ "Thrashers sign Anthony Stewart and Noah Welch". Atlanta Thrashers. 2009-07-13. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ↑ Wengel, Daniel (2011-07-01). "Storväxt amerikansk back klar för HV71". HV71.se (in Swedish). HV71. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
- ↑ Gustavsson, Jonas (2012-05-03). "Noah Welch har skrivit på" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ↑ "Welch to donate brain for concussion study". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
- ↑ "Molinari On The Penguins: Building the Penguins ... brains not included". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2008-10-26.
External links
- Noah Welch's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Noah Welch's player profile at NHL.com