Rockford native Mitchell Chaffee called up to NHL

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (WOOD) — Rockford native Mitchell Chaffee is being called up to play in the National Hockey League.

The Wild of Minnesota announced on monday that he is recalling Chaffee from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League and has placed Marcus Foligno, a forward from Minnesota, on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Chaffee has yet to appear in an NHL game, but he may get his first chance when he dons jersey No. 63 to play Minnesota on Tuesday at 7 pm against the Montreal Canadiens.

A Rockford native, Chaffee left home at age 16 to play for the HoneyBaked Hockey Club in Detroit. He also played two seasons with the former Michigan Nationals hockey team and spent a couple of years in the United States Hockey League in Bloomington, Indiana and Fargo, North Dakota before heading to the University of Massachusetts. .

He played three seasons at the University of Massachusetts from 2017 to 2020, scoring 95 points overall and serving as co-captain in his junior season.

Chaffee signed with the Minnesota Wild in spring 2020 and was sent to play for Wild’s AHL team in Iowa, where he played several games against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

While playing 45 games with the Iowa Wild, Chaffee scored 37 points, including eight power-play goals, an 11-plus rating, and 12 penalty minutes. He leads the team in goals, adding 13 points in his last 11 games.