Willsie Out, Ellison In

03 Oct 2013 | Tim Bourcier

Willsie heads back to TPS and KHL Medveščak announces signing of Matt Ellison.

In the second period of KHL Medveščak's win over Avangard Omsk, it was officially announced that Brian Willsie would be returning to HC TPS of the SM-Liiga. He was loaned out to KHL Medveščak in what Coach Mark French later described as "part of a plan" to have him help jump start the expansion club. With only five weeks from the beginning of training camp until the season started, Willsie accomplished what was expected of him.

Aaron Fox, Sports Director for Medveščak, said they tried to convince Willsie to stay, but he was committed to TPS: '' We obviously think Brian is a very good player and person and we hope to see Brian in a Medveščak jersey again. I think he brought a big part of our early success in the league. We tried to keep him for rest of season but he is also a important player for TPS so they are looking forward to his return. We wish him a great season in TPS and we will be in contact for future possibilities.''

In the prior game against Avtomobilist, Mark French said with Willsie likely departing that it would be "the next man up" to replace him. With several players waiting in the queue and Michael Ryan debuting soon after overcoming an early injury, it appeared Medveščak had solutions on hand. However, they announced the signing of KHL veteran and former NHL player Matt Ellisson. Fox commented, ''Matt is no stranger to the KHL and has been a very productive player at this level. We are reuniting him with his two old linemates Linglet and Vesce. That line combined for 143 points in Torpedo and are all very excited with the possibility of having a chance to play together again. Matt will arrive Thursday and should be ready to make his debut on Monday''.

Ellison is the second new signing by Medveščak in recent weeks. Finnish defender Hannu Pikkarainen got his first start against Avtomobilist on Monday. Though he finished with only one minor penalty and no points, he made up for it in his second match with two assists on the power play against Avangard.

Tim Bourcier is a writer for Eurohockey.com and The Hockey Writers following the KHL and hockey in Croatia. Follow him on Twitter @bourciertm and read his blog following KHL Medvescak Zagreb, the "Bears Hockey Blog".