IOWA WILD SIGN FINKELSTEIN AND O’LEARY TO AHL CONTRACTS
Jul 13, 2022DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Wild announced today the signing of defenseman Ben Finkelstein and forward Mike O’Leary to one-year, one-way American Hockey League contracts.
Finkelstein, 24 (10/1/97), spent the 2021-22 campaign with the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL, where he led all ECHL defenseman in assists (51) and points (62). He also notched 11 goals on the season, which helped land him ECHL First All-Star Team honors.
Prior to turning pro, the South Burlington, Vt. native produced 14 goals, 52 assists for 66 points in 113 career games at Boston College. In 2019-20, Finkelstein earned a spot on the Hockey East Second All-Star Team and the Eagles were crowned Hockey East playoff champions. The 5-foot-9, 181-pound blueliner was also the United States Hockey League (USHL) Defenseman of the Year in 2017-18 while playing for the Waterloo Black Hawks.
O’Leary, 24 (1/1/98), played 53 games in 2021-22 with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. In 2021-22, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound forward tallied six goals, five assists for 11 points. Before signing professionally, the Halifax, N.S native spent four seasons at the University of Notre Dame, where he skated in 151 games and collected 20 goals, 37 assists for 57 points. O’Leary and the Irish won the Big 10 Conference regular season championship in 2017-18 and the Big 10 Conference playoff championship in 2018-19.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team’s website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. The 2022-23 season marks the 10th anniversary of Iowa Wild hockey. Fans can purchase season tickets for the 10th anniversary season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.