AIC's Tom Mele one of three former AHA players skating with the Springfield Falcons

Click here to read Garry Brown's story on the Mass Live website.

SPRINGFIELD – There’s a collegiate look to the early crop of candidates in the Springfield Falcons’ training camp. 

Thirteen of the skaters who took part in the Springfield club’s first workout Sunday played college hockey, including one who is well known on the American International College campus. 

He’s Tom Mele, who learned to skate in the Bronx, N.Y., and went on to become captain of coach Gary Wright’s 2010-11 team. 

Obi Aduba, a Walpole native who played for three seasons at the University of Massachusetts, is one of seven collegians from New England seeking a spot in the American Hockey League. 

The others are Phil Ginand of Milford, Conn., and Mercyhurst College; Matt Lombardi of Milton and Boston College; Denny Kearney of Hanover, N.H., and Yale; Ryan Palmer of Groton and UConn; Mike Spillane of Bow, N.H., and the University of Vermont; and goaltender Brian Mahoney-Wilson of West Roxbury and Lake Superior State.

By the way, Wilson comes from a well-known hockey family. His uncle is Ron Wilson, current coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his great-uncle is Johnny Wilson, who served as coach and general manager of the Calder Cup-winning Springfield Kings of 1970-71. Mahoney-Wilson’s grandfather, Larry Wilson, was elected to the AHL Hall of Fame last season as a player/coach. 

Other ex-collegians in Camp Falcon are Adam Pineault, a Holyoke native who played at Boston College before heading into a pro career; Aaron Bogosian of St. Lawrence; Joe Grimaldi of Nebraska-Omaha; Tristin Llewellyn of Michigan; and Wade MacLeod of Northeastern. 

Bogosian, Kearney and MacLeod were with the Falcons briefly near the end of last season. 

Springfield’s second-year coach Rob Riley – himself a former BC captain who had a long college coaching career at Army – will get a good look at his young candidates in exhibition games this week. 

The Falcons play the Connecticut Whale at home Wednesday, at Providence Friday and at home against Providence Saturday. 

By then, the roster will be undergoing changes as Springfield’s parent club, the Columbus Blue Jackets, continues to make cuts prior to the start of its NHL season Oct. 7. 

Right now, though, players like AIC’s Mele are attempting to make a lasting impression on the coaching staff. 

“I was playing junior hockey in Canada when one of the scouts suggested AIC as a school I might want to consider,” Mele said. “It turned out to be a good fit for me – a Division I program that’s close to home. Good timing and luck brought me to AIC, and now that I’m getting this opportunity, it’s something that I’ve been waiting for. My dream is the NHL, but I know you have to go step by step.” 

Coach Riley had a chance to see Mele last winter when AIC played Bentley College. 

“I thought he was the best kid on the ice that night. He’s a good player, a strong skater and he likes to compete,” Riley said. “We’ll see how that translates for him here. Sometimes, if you give a player a chance, he goes with it.” 

ICE CHIPS: Riley said he expects “two more waves of cuts” after the exhibition games ... So far, the only player in camp who saw appreciable time with the Falcons last season is Brent Regner, a defenseman who played in 56 games ... In his AIC career, Mele was a durable player, appearing in 132 of 137 games over four seasons.