Walleye sign defenseman Jared Wilson to contract

Toledo Walleye head coach Dan Watson signed defenseman Jared Wilson today.

The Toledo Walleye signed college defenseman Jared Wilson to an amateur tryout, the club announced Tuesday.

Wilson just completed a four-year college career at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where the 23-year-old scored 27 goals and added 25 assists in 151 career games. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound defenseman accumulated 192 penalty minutes in his career.

Walleye coach Dan Watson said Wilson is a solid defenseman who competes well.

“He's a left shot, which is something we wanted, and he has a great shot,” Watson said. “He's hard to play against and will add more depth to our D core.”

The Walleye signed Wilson to the amateur tryout agreement, which is a type of contract for players who are leaving college and attempting to turn professional. The agreement will last either five games or 10 days, whichever comes first.

The native of Calgary, Alberta, finished this past season with seven goals and seven assists in 37 games for the Engineers.

Before college, he played junior hockey in the British Columbia Hockey League with Alberni Valley and Vernon. In 107 games between the teams, he totaled 18 goals and 52 assists.

The team suspended defenseman Jamie Doornbosch on Monday for the rest of the season after he opted not to report to Toledo after a trade last week. The Walleye had sent leading scorer Erik Bradford to Brampton for Doornbosch.

The Walleye also announced that they released defenseman Dalton Carter from his amateur tryout offer. A Northview alum, Carter played in two games last weekend.

LEAGUE NEWS: The ECHL announced on Tuesday a divisional realignment for next season.

The Walleye will remain in the Western Conference and Central Division. Toledo will stay in the Central along with current members the Cincinnati Cyclones, Fort Wayne Komets, Indy Fuel, and Kalamazoo Wings. The Wheeling Nailers will be joining the division.

Kansas City will leave the Central and join the Mountain Division.

The league also announced that Quad City, another of Toledo's Central Division opponents this season, will cease operations. The Mallards have withdrawn their membership in the ECHL, effective at the conclusion of the season.

The ECHL also announced on Tuesday that its board of directors has approved the expansion membership application for St. John’s, Newfoundland, to begin play in the 2018-19 season.

The St. John’s franchise will be owned by a local investment company. Glenn Stanford, the long-time president of the city’s former American Hockey League franchise there, will oversee team operations.