How quickly can things change during these times of the coronavirus? Just ask Nick Wolff.
A week ago, Wolff, whose senior season as a Minnesota Duluth defenseman and captain ended abruptly in March because of the global pandemic, was training in his hometown of Eagan, waiting to hear when the 2020-21 NHL and AHL seasons will begin. Wolff signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Bruins organization shortly after the college season and is expected to join the club in training camp.
Come Sunday, though, Wolff has another destination. He'll be flying Hungary to play some hockey.
"My old coach in [USHL] Des Moines [Dave Allison] is now a head coach in a Slovakian league,'' Wolff said. "I got the call last week, and he asked if I wanted to go to play for a couple months overseas. I said, 'Absolutely, I'll go.' ''
Wolff will be playing for the DVTK Polar Bears in Miskolc, a city of about 160,000 in northeastern Hungary. The Polar Bears are the lone Hungarian team in the Tipos Extrliga, the top league in Slovakia.
"Turns out, it's a pretty good opportunity,'' Wolf said. "It's a cool thing to experience – traveling a little bit and seeing the world.''
The prime motivation for Wolff, however, is getting a chance to play. He's a 6-5, 230-pound physical blue-liner – his hit on Massachusetts Hobey Baker Award winner Cale Makar in the 2019 NCAA final is the stuff of Bulldogs legend – but last threw a check in anger on March 7, when Minnesota Duluth beat St. Cloud State 6-1 to complete a sweep of their season-ending NCHC series. The Bulldogs were about to embark on the defense of their back-to-back NCAA championships with a home playoff series against Miami (Ohio) before sports were shut down on March 12.
Wolff has been training at Mash Performance in Eagan, along with high school teammate Tommy Muck, who finished his senior season at Bemidji State and is preparing for the season with the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL.
