Ferris State Alum Mayhew Set For National Hockey League Debut For Minnesota Wild Tonight In Toronto

Toronto, Ontario – The National Hockey League's (NHL) Minnesota Wild have officially listed Ferris State Hockey alum Gerald Mayhew in tonight's (Oct. 15, 2019) line up against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena where Mayhew will make his NHL debut after being recalled from the American Hockey League's (AHL) Iowa Wild on Sunday, Oct. 13. 

Mayhew will become the 12th former Bulldog to debut in the NHL, following Dean Clark, Mike Colman, Dave Karpa, John Gruden, Jason Blake, Andy Roach, Rob Collins, Chris Kunitz, Greg Rallo, Zach Redmond, and Chad Billins. Mayhew left Ferris State as the all-time leader in playoff point scoring in school history.

"I am very excited for Gerry and his opportunity to realize his dream of playing in the NHL," Ferris State Hockey Head Coach Bob Daniels said. "Gerry has worked extremely hard and is very deserving of this opportunity. I believe I speak for the entire Bulldog Nation when I say we all wish him the best of luck."

The Wyandotte native has been assigned #26 by the Minnesota Wild. Wild team reporter Dan Myers initially reported Mayhew as entering the line-up in place of Kevin Fiala at 11:45 am.

Mayhew spoke to reporters about the opportunity at morning media availabilty, saying "I've got to keep level-headed. I can't get too excited because then things could go wrong. [But] it's an exciting time for sure," to the Minneapolis based Star Tribune.

Minnesota and Toronto are set to drop the puck at 7 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised live on Fox Sports North, Fox Sports Wisconsin, NHL Network, and TSN4 (Canada).

Minnesota's home rink, the Xcel Energy Center, treated Mayhew well in his collegiate career. Mayhew had five points in three collegiate games in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) tournament and the NCAA tournament combined.

Mayhew was a standout for the Bulldogs from 2013-2017, helping the Bulldogs to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014 and 2016 as well as a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) MacNaughton Cup Championship in 2014 and Broadmoor Trophy Championship in 2016.

As a freshman, Mayhew went on a postseason tear for the Bulldogs, resulting in the hashtag #GerryTime trending on twitter following his two-goal and overtime game-winning goal performance against Alaska Anchorage at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena in the 2014 WCHA Final Five. The Iowa Wild have maintained use of the hashtag throughout his professional career.

Mayhew had a breakout season for the Iowa Wild in 2018-19, establishing career highs in nearly every category on 27 goals, 33 assists and 60 points in the regular season. He also tallied nine power play goals and a pair of shorthanded markers. In the playoffs, Mayhew led the Wild in goal-scoring with nine goals and 11 points in 11 games played.

As a freshman, Mayhew scored the game-winning goal in Ferris State's 2014 NCAA Tournament victory over Colgate, and earned an assist, creating the game-winning overtime goal in Ferris State's 2016 upset of second overall seeded St. Cloud State in the NCAA West Regional.

Mayhew was the WCHA point-scoring champion in both 2015-16 and 2016-17, and wrapped up his career with 52 goals and 67 assists for 119 points in 150 collegiate contests. Mayhew was a two-time All-WCHA Tournament team member and a first team all-conference selection as a senior in 2017. He is Ferris State's current leading scorer of the 2010-2020 decade.

As a prepster, Mayhew was named USHS Michigan Mr. Hockey, awarded annually to Michigan's best high school hockey player. Mayhew tallied 44 goals in 30 games for Wyandotte Roosevelt High School in 2010-11 before joining the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons where he scored 36 goals and dished out 41 assists for 77 points in 117 games in USA's premier junior league.