Kyle Wellwood Kyle Wellwood ( born May 16 , 1983 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who plays for the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL . He was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs 134th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft and played his first three seasons in the NHL with Toronto , before joining the Vancouver Canucks in 2008 . After not re - signing with the Canucks Wellwood played in Russia for Atlant Moscow Oblast of the Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) . He left the team due to family concerns and was signed by the St . Louis Blues . He never played a game with them as he was claimed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks . After one season with the Sharks he signed with the Jets as a free agent . Playing career . Junior . Wellwood was drafted by the Belleville Bulls in the first round , 16th overall , in the 1999 Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) draft . In his second season with Belleville ( 2000 – 01 ) , he put up 118 points , capturing the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league ' s leading scorer . The next season , he was traded in January 2002 to the Windsor Spitfires for Jason Spezza . As a Spitfire , he tallied 100 points in 57 games , including a 29 - game stretch in which he scored 26 goals and 59 points . In his final year of junior , he also received the William Hanley Trophy as the OHL ' s sportsman of the year , as well as the CHL Sportsman of the Year Award by playing in 57 games without a single penalty minute that year . Toronto Maple Leafs . Wellwood was drafted in the 5th round , 134th overall , by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft . He turned pro in 2003 – 04 when he joined Toronto ' s minor league affiliate , the St . John ' s Maple Leafs of the American Hockey League ( AHL ) . Wellwood recorded 55 points in his professional rookie season while also appearing in his first NHL game with the Maple Leafs that year . The NHL lockout the following season guaranteed that Wellwood would play in the AHL one more season . On October 30 , 2004 , he set a St . John ' s franchise record by scoring 5 goals in one game against the Cleveland Barons . He finished his second season with St . John ' s in 2004 – 05 fourth in league scoring with 87 points . As NHL play resumed the following season in 2005 – 06 , Wellwood joined Toronto ' s lineup . When captain Mats Sundin was injured in the first game of the season , Wellwood was bumped to centre the first line between Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov in Sundin ' s absence for a month . He posted a career - high 45 points in his rookie campaign . The following season , on December 16 , 2006 , Wellwood scored his first NHL hat trick in a game against the New York Rangers . He also had two assists that same night for a career - high five point NHL game . On pace to surpass his rookie totals , Wellwood was sidelined for almost half the season and finished with 42 points in 48 games . Wellwood suffered a sports hernia before the start of the 2007 – 08 season , and consequently he missed the first 15 games . He returned on November 6 , 2007 , against the Ottawa Senators . After the Leafs had been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention , Wellwood went to Philadelphia for minor surgery on the opposite side of his groin from the first operation , prematurely ending his season with 21 points in 59 games . Vancouver Canucks . During the 2008 off - season , Wellwood broke a bone in his right foot while playing indoor soccer . With his contract set to expire , the Leafs placed him on waivers on June 24 . He was claimed the following day by the Vancouver Canucks and was signed to a one - year , $ 998 , 000 contract . Reporting to training camp , he failed his initial fitness test and , although he passed a later evaluation , he was a healthy scratch to begin the season . On October 17 , after having played just one game for the Canucks , he was placed on waivers ; after clearing , he was assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL . Because the addition of Wellwood would have put the Moose over the limit for veteran players , Wellwood started looking at playing options in Europe ; however , two days after clearing waivers , injuries to the Canucks forced them to call Wellwood up from the minors , and he cleared re - entry waivers 24 hours later . Wellwood took advantage of this opportunity by getting a goal and an assist in a 4 - 2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and stuck with the club . Later in the season , on February 17 , 2009 , Wellwood ended a streak of 159 games without a penalty by taking a high - sticking penalty against the Calgary Flames . It was his first penalty since April 11 , 2006 . Wellwood ended his first regular season in Vancouver with 18 goals and 9 assists . Having never reached the post - season with the Maple Leafs , Wellwood made his NHL playoff debut with the Canucks in 2009 and scored his first NHL playoff goal in game four of the first round against the St . Louis Blues , helping Vancouver complete a sweep in a 3 – 2 overtime win . In the off - season , Wellwood became a restricted free agent . After taking the Canucks to arbitration on July 28 , 2009 , he was re - signed to a one - year , $ 1 . 2 million contract two days later on July 30 ; terms in the collective bargaining agreement did not allow the Canucks to walk away from a ruling of less than $ 1 . 57 million . Having earned a reputation in his first Canucks season for a lack of fitness , Wellwood reported to training camp for the 2009 – 10 season 15 pounds lighter than in the previous year . He started the season on the third line with Steve Bernier and Mason Raymond , a combination that coach Alain Vigneault carried over from the latter stages of the 2008 – 09 season and playoffs . Wellwood was sidelined early in the season , suffering a broken toe after blocking a shot from Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Komisarek in a game on October 24 , 2009 , but he returned to the lineup just eight days later , on November 1 . He finished the campaign with 14 goals and 25 points in 75 games . He followed that up with a seven - point post - season as the Canucks were eliminated by the Blackhawks in the second round . KHL and San Jose Sharks . After two seasons in Vancouver , the Canucks let Wellwood become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 , 2010 , opting instead to sign Manny Malhotra from the San Jose Sharks as their projected third - line centre . Wellwood ' s main goal during the off - season was to find an opportunity to play centre on a scoring line . He accepted an invitation to the Phoenix Coyotes ' training camp on a try - out basis . However , he was unable to secure a spot on the Coyotes ' roster and was released on October 1 . Four days later , Wellwood signed with Atlant Moscow Oblast of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) . In January 2011 , he was released from Atlant . Initially it was believed that he had been released due to performance issues , but it was soon revealed that Wellwood was returning to his hometown of Windsor , Ontario , for family reasons . Later in the 2010 – 11 season , he was reported to have signed with the St . Louis Blues ; however , Blues officials denied the report , stating that they were unsure where the information came from . Team general manager Doug Armstrong stated that they were interested in Wellwood but they had not signed him . According to a St . Louis - based reporter , the team was waiting for confirmation of Wellwood ' s release from Atlant before they finalized the signing . On January 17 , Wellwood officially signed a one - year deal with the Blues , but needed to clear re - entry waivers before joining the team . The following day , he was claimed by the San Jose Sharks . He scored his first goal for the Sharks on February 1 , 2011 in a game vs . the Coyotes . Wellwood ' s goal tied the game at 3 – 3 and was considered a rallying point for San Jose as they came back to win 5 – 3 after being down 3 – 0 . In March Wellwood noted that the Sharks were a more mature team and would be better than the Canucks because they ' ve been through more adversity in the playoffs . The two teams eventually met in the Western Conference Finals . When asked about Wellwoods comments prior to Game 1 of the series former teammate Kevin Bieksa stated " I don ' t even remember what the weasel said . " The Canucks won the series 4 – 1 advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals . Winnipeg Jets . After becoming a free agent in the off - season Wellwood signed a one - year $ US 700 , 000 deal with the Winnipeg Jets on September , 8th 2011 . International play . As a junior in his fourth and final OHL season , Wellwood competed for Team Canada at the 2003 World Junior Championships , earning a silver medal . He contributed 1 goal and 4 assists in 6 games . Personal life . Wellwood grew up in Oldcastle , Ontario , just outside of Windsor . His brother Eric plays for the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL and was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft . His sister Michelle is a teacher , like their mother Donna was before becoming a firefighter . Wellwood used hockey to escape from troubles at home . Wellwood and his fiancee , Bianca , became parents March 28 , 2011 when their son , Roman , was born nine weeks ahead of schedule . Awards . Major Junior AHL NHL