Amerks sign two players to AHL contracts for the 2020-21 season

The Rochester Americans announced today that the team has signed forward Remi Elie and defenseman Nicholas Welsh to one-year American Hockey League contracts for the 2020-21 season.

Elie, 25, returns to the Amerks for his third season after posting 27 points on 16 goals and 11 assists in 59 games over the last two years. The 6-foot-1, 216-pound forward also appeared in 16 games with the Buffalo Sabres after being claimed off waivers from the Dallas Stars during the 2018-19 campaign, adding an assist.

Over his five-year AHL career, Elie has notched 73 points (32+41) in 180 career AHL games between Rochester and Texas, while also tallying nine points (2+7) in 26 playoff games. The Cornwall, Ontario, native helped the Stars advance to the Calder Cup Championship in the spring of 2018.

Prior to turning pro, Elie amassed 161 points (66+95) in 195 games over a four-year span in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between the London Knights, Erie Otters and Belleville Bulls.

He was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the second-round (40th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.

Welsh, 23, comes to Rochester having skated in six games with Banska Bystrica HC (Slovak) to begin the 2020-21 campaign, recording six penalty minutes. Prior to joining Banska, the 5-foot 9, 174-pound blueliner spent the previous two seasons at St. Mary’s University (AUS), notching 67 points (11+56) in 58 games.

During his final season with the Huskies, Welsh led all AUS defensemen in both assists (33) and points (38) while appearing in 29 games on his way to earning a First All-Star Team selection for the second consecutive year. He was also named to the All-Canadian First Team.