Oilers sign Dylan Wells
St. Catharines native agrees to three-year, entry-level deal with Edmonton Oilers
Dylan Wells proved a lot of things to a lot of people this season but most importantly to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
The Peterborough Petes’ goalie signed a three-year entry-level contract with Edmonton, Oilers president of hockey operations and general manager Peter Chiarelli announced on Wednesday.
“It’s a dream come true,” Wells said Wednesday afternoon from his home in St. Catharines. “You grow up watching NHL hockey dreaming you’ll get there one day.”
“Following the draft this is the next stepping stone along that path to getting to my lifelong goal of playing in the NHL. Words can’t really describe the feeling but I’m super excited to join such a prestigious organization.”
The Oilers selected Wells in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft despite the goaltender’s disappointing statistics in the 2015-16 season. Wells rewarded their faith in him, rebounding with the best season of his career. Wells, 19, posted a 33-15-2-2 record with a 3.07 goals-against average and .916 save percentage backstopping the Petes to first place in the OHL’s Eastern Conference during the regular season.
He played in all 12 playoff games posting an 8-3-1 slate with a 2.51 GAA and .930 save percentage. He scored the first goal by a goaltender in Petes’ history in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal against Kingston.
“Obviously this year was better than last year but without the season of struggle that I went through I don’t think I’d be at this point today,” Wells said. “I learned a lot and I think that was a major stepping stone to the season I had this year.”
“Now, I’m going to try to build off the season I just had and be that much better next season.”
“You can use every situation to your advantage depending on how you look at it if you have a positive outlook towards everything.”
The Oilers proved themselves to be one of the NHL’s teams on the rise this season. They recorded 100 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals. They are led by young stars like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Oscar Klefbom.
“To even be such a small part of an organization like that is very special,” Wells said. “I watched them all season long and all through the playoffs. The amount of young talent they have on that team is really something that motivates me to work toward.”
“I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Wells talked with Chiarelli by phone after signing the contract.
“That was one of the coolest phone calls I’ve had,” he said.
The six-foot-two, 182-pound Wells was the Petes’ second round, pick, 21st overall in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection. He won a gold medal with Canada’s under-18 team at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and was a member of Team Canada Red at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
He represented the Petes and Team OHL in both the 2015 and 2016 CHL Canada Russia Series. Wells also attended Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence Goaltending Camp in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and took part in Edmonton’s development and training camps in 2016.
Wells was twice named Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week and Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week in the 2016-17 campaign. He was named by the OHL as a finalist for the OHL Goaltender of the Year and for the Red Tilson Trophy for the Most Outstanding Player of the Year for the 2016-17 season.