By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter / X @BlackAndGold277
The ECHL Maine Mariners have been active throughout this offseason, putting the pieces together and signing players for the upcoming campaign. The “AA” minor-pro affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins is also busy in the free agent market, looking for a new head coach and one who serves as the team’s general manager. Last year, the Mariners missed the postseason for the first time in three years, finishing 33-35-4 with 70 points, good enough for second-to-last (Sixth Place) in the North Division.
Former Mariners Head Coach Terrance Wallin, who served as Maine’s bench boss for the last three seasons, recently accepted an assistant coach role with the higher American Hockey League Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 33-year-old Wallin retired from the game at the end of the 2019-20 season, playing a year and a half for the team located in the Portland, Maine area. With Wallin now back in his native Pennsylvania state, replacing him this offseason has made things a bit more challenging as the team looks to move forward.
The Mariners have been affiliated with the NHL Bruins and a feeder team for the AHL’s Providence Bruins since the 2021-22 season. Rumor around the rinks has the ECHL Mariners extending its affiliation with the Bruins organization on a one-year or possibly a multi-year agreement. I’d expect this announcement will be closer to when the 2025-26 season officially starts for professional hockey here in North America. Since the 2021-22 season, under the Boston Bruins’ minor-pro umbrella, the ECHL club has a record of 140-125-19-4. The team’s best season came in the 2022-23 campaign, when the Mariners went 42-27-2-1, earning 87 points in 72 regular-season games.
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Recent ECHL Maine Mariners Free Agent Signings
So far this offseason, the Mariners are doing their due diligence in both the head coaching search and player personnel, as the team continues to build a competitive roster for the upcoming ECHL season. The early offseason additions have identified the leadership aspect by bringing back popular players, but also made additions of new Mariners players eager to make their mark in professional hockey, either as a newcomer in the league or a seasoned veteran. As most fans are aware, successful professional hockey teams thrive on a roster with diverse capabilities.
It’s essential to have a healthy balance of youth and veteran leadership to be a competitive group at this level of hockey, and some early signings mentioned below are just the start of what’s to come. This is a pivotal offseason for the Mariners organization, and I know second-year team owner Dexter Paine and the ownership staff are determined to find the best candidates to have a bounce-back season. Anyway, here are the recent free agent signings that the Mariners have made so far this offseason, with many more transactions to come as the team from Portland, Maine, looks to round out its roster.
Forward Wyllum Deveaux
Team Captain Deveaux is a 24-year-old set to appear in his third season with the Mariners team and second consecutive campaign as the on-ice and off-ice leader of the NHL Bruins minor-pro affiliate. In two previous seasons with Maine, the 6′-2″, 205-pound Nova Scotia, Canada, native posted 32-23-55 in 112 regular season games.
Since Wyllum joined the Mariners, his leadership acumen has been second to none, but he is also a player who puts it all on the line, setting an example for others up and down the bench, along with on and off the ice. With a team seemingly looking to make some significant changes this offseason, locking up a player like Deveaux was imperative. He was ranked fourth on the team last year with 19-12-31 numbers and the team leader in power-play goals with eight.
Forward Sebastian Vidmar
The 31-year-old is a veteran left winger set to appear in his second full season as the 2025-26 campaign approaches. In 2024-25, the 6′-3″ 203-pound forward posted 13-16-29 numbers in 72 games. After a successful stretch of development in his native Sweden with the Malmö Redhawks organization, Vidmar altered his developmental path and headed to North America to join two up-and-coming leagues: the North American Hockey League and later the USHL.
Sebastian would later join the NCAA ranks with Union College before embarking on his professional hockey career, making stops first with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, Adirondack Thunder, and Savannah Ghost Pirates, before joining the Maine Mariners during the 2023-24 campaign via a trade with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. This one-year contract extension keeps a leader like Vidmar around to guide the younger generation of hockey players looking to make their mark in the ECHL professional ranks.
Forward Robert Cronin
The 24-year-old Cronin appeared in his first professional hockey action at the tail end of last year after graduating from the University of New Hampshire, posting 17-11-28 numbers in his senior year of NCAA Hockey East competition. In 13 ECHL games this spring, the Plymouth, Massachusetts native posted 5-3-8 numbers and was a player to keep an eye on as the Mariners look to the future and the continued effort of filling out next season’s roster.
In 129 career games for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, the 5′-10″ 187-pound right-shooting forward posted 29-32-61 totals, and before his collegiate hockey career, he spent two seasons appearing in 92 games for the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints, going 30-31-61. This one-year deal brings some youthful energy to the Mariners’ lineup and should be a solid addition to the future coaching staff’s plans.
Defenseman Justin Bean
Bean returns to Maine for his second season of ECHL play after appearing in 72 games last year, posting 7-28-35 numbers on the Mariners’ backend in the 2024-25 campaign. The Pickering, Ontario, Canada, native is a 29-year-old veteran of the game, and his 6′-3″, 205-pound stature makes him an annoyance when opposing players cross the blueline into his defensive zone. Throughout Bean’s pro hockey career, he has been a steady shutdown defenseman, consistently positionally sound in his zone coverage and adept at reading the plays coming at him or away from the puck.
Justin served as an assistant captain for the Mariners last season as one of the true leaders of the backend. With this one-year contract extension, the veteran blueliner looks to continue his pro career and also serve as someone that new defenseman or forwards on the bench can lean on for guidance, while providing steady minutes playing a role on the ice.
Forward Linus Hemstrom
Another new face to the Maine organization, and one that looks to have a bounce-back campaign with his relatively new team, is 21-year-old Hemstrom. The 6′-0″ 176-pound right winger is a Swedish native who came to the Mariners team via a trade last year from the Bloomington Bison, who moved the forward after appearing in 31 games and posting 1-6-7 numbers with the new ECHL Bison team. To finish last season with Maine, the former Ontario Hockey League Kingston Frontenac player appeared in 24 games, posting 2-5-7 numbers.
The former Brynas IF team member will be heavily relied upon to provide this Mariners team with a jump in offensive production and turn the fate of what failed this team last season, which was putting the puck in the net and holding leads. I believe the addition of Hemstrom will provide a key asset to the penalty kill and forechecking effort, keeping the opposition back in their own zone and causing anxiety.
Defenseman Jaxon Bellamy
The 6′-4″ 205-pound New Brunswick, Canada, native is a 24-year-old blueliner who recently graduated and played USports at Saint Mary’s University, where he posted 16-31-47 numbers in 88 games. Before his USports role, Bellamy spent time in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, making stops with the Moncton Wildcats, Sherbrooke Phoenix, and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. His career numbers in the QMJHL are 24-67-91 in 261 career games. Jaxon was drafted 16th in the first round of the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft and also selected by the United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel in the same year, but in the tenth round, at 158th overall.
Bellamy signed a one-year deal with Maine for the upcoming season, and by the early looks of this roster, particularly on the backend, will be heavily tutored by a veteran blueliner like assistant captain Justin Bean. This will be the first year of pro hockey for a blueliner like Jaxon, so it will be essential to play a steady two-way game with an emphasis on defensive structure and man-to-man defensive zone coverage.
Conclusion
As mentioned before, this is going to be a challenging offseason for the Maine Mariners organization. Although the optics don’t look great from a fan’s perspective, this happens in the minor-pro system quite often, having professional organizations scrambling for player or coaching replacements. If done correctly, this is an excellent transition period for the Boston Bruins’ ECHL affiliate and a time to step back and take a wider look, starting from scratch.
Perhaps restructure the philosophies and scouting that were the norm and adapt to league trends while using successful league members as examples in building a winning culture under a high roster influx, utilizing a feeder system. I’m not saying it’s been horrible in the past, but things can always get better in competitive sports when jobs are on the line.
If all the right parts are put in place and a bench boss committed to training and winning, I don’t see why this Mariners team can’t bounce back and get into another consistent string of Kelly Cup Playoff appearances.
As I mentioned, in several interviews and articles I’ve read, Dexter Paine is the real deal when it comes to ownership, and I believe in the path of keeping one of North America’s top hockey destinations alive with a competitive product, regardless of whether the team is affiliated with Boston or not.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Maine Mariners’ offseason, as there will be plenty more storylines as the team continues to assemble the pieces to build a successful ECHL franchise.
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