Theran Welsh is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenseman who was an All-American for Wisconsin.[1]

Theran Welsh
Born (1958-02-25) February 25, 1958 (age 66)
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Defenseman
Shot Left
Played for Wisconsin
SaiPa
Oklahoma City Stars
KooKoo
Playing career 1977–1983

Career

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Welsh played junior hockey for his home-town Prince Albert Raiders. He spent three years with the team, becoming captain in his final season. That year he helped the team win the Centennial Cup.[2] Afterwards he accepted a scholarship to Wisconsin after the program had captured its second national title. In his first season with the Badgers, Welsh was an instant hit, scoring 55 points to lead the defense and helped Wisconsin return to the NCAA Tournament.

After a substandard year, Wisconsin produced the worst performance under Bob Johnson, finishing 9th in the WCHA (his only losing record).[3] Despite the sharp decline, now-captain-Welsh continued to score at a high rate, ending with his third 55+ point season. He was named as an All-American and All-WCHA second team. The team recovered quickly in Welsh's senior season, finishing in a tie for second place in the WCHA. Welsh had another stellar offensive season, but the team suffered a terrible upset at the hands of Colorado College, losing a total-goal series after winning the first game 8–2. Fortunately, the NCAA had expanded the tournament field for 1981 and Wisconsin was given the final western seed as the WCHA was considered superior to the CCHA.

Derisively called the 'Back-Door Badgers', Wisconsin escaped a close series against Clarkson in the quarterfinals, winning the series 9–8 despite a nail-biting overtime session in the second game. After routing Northern Michigan in the semifinal, Wisconsin met Minnesota for the championship. Welsh assisted on Wisconsin's second goal as the Badgers opened up a 4-goal lead by the midway point of the game. The Gophers fought back valiantly but Wisconsin's lead was too much the team won its third national championship. Welsh's final assist was number 194 of his career, setting a new NCAA record for any position (he was later passed by current record holder Wayne Gagné). Welsh was also the all-time leading defenseman scorer for Wisconsin and sits 3rd all-time for all skaters as of 2021.

Being a relatively small player at just 5'7", Welsh had little opportunity to make the NHL and played parts of two seasons in Finland. He retired as a player in 1983 and went on to work for SVA as a Certified Public Accountant. He rose to position of Principle in the firm, a position he continues to hold as of 2021.[4]

Welsh was inducted into the Prince Albert Wall of Honor in 2009 and the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.[5]

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1973–74 Kinistino Tigers NSJHL
1974–75 Prince Albert Raiders SJHL
1975–76 Prince Albert Raiders SJHL
1976–77 Prince Albert Raiders SJHL
1976–77 Saskatoon Blades WCHL 1 0 1 1 2
1977–78 Wisconsin WCHA 43 10 45 55 28
1978–79 Wisconsin WCHA 41 7 54 61 70
1979–80 Wisconsin WCHA 36 7 51 58 24
1980–81 Wisconsin WCHA 41 10 44 54 52
1981–82 SaiPa SM-liiga 33 2 5 7 10
1981–82 Oklahoma City Stars CHL 13 2 9 11 4 4 0 3 3 2
1982–83 KooKoo Kouvola I-Divisioona 35 12 12 24 110
NCAA totals 161 34 194 228 174

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1979–80 [6]
AHCA West All-American 1979–80 [1]
All-WCHA Second Team 1980–81 [6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "2008-09 Wall of Honour Inductees". Prince Albert Raiders. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "Wisconsin Badgers Men's Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Theran Welsh". SVA Accountants. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  5. ^ "Hall of Fame Class of 2010: Theran Welsh". Wisconsin Badgers. September 3, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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