Welcome Home Mike Reilly

As of tomorrow, July 1, 2015, Mike Reilly (@mreilly93) will officially don a Minnesota Wild sweater. The 21, almost 22-year-old has had an adventurous six weeks since he announced he would not return to the Minnesota Gophers for his senior year. From competing in the 2015 IIHF World Championship, to studying abroad in China with his twin brothers, Connor (@CReilly81) and Ryan (@rreilly08), to becoming a free agent on June 16, he has had a whirlwind of experiences in six short weeks.

IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Mikey Reilly was the fourth youngest skater for the United States in the IIHF World Championship that was played in the Czech Republic this past spring. USA defeated Switzerland 3-1 in their first game. They lost in the semi-finals 0-4 to Russia. They went on to win the bronze medal against the Czech Republic 3-0.

Mike Reilly, Instagram (mikeyreilly5)

During his time at the World Championship, Reilly was able to gain wisdom and advice from players that are currently in the NHL. He was able to take this into consideration when looking at all of his options, including becoming a free agent.

STUDY ABROAD - CHINA 
As students of the Carlson School of Management, Connor and Ryan are required to study abroad in order to fulfill their International Experience Requirement that the school has. Mikey took this time to study abroad himself before officially leaving the University of Minnesota. From what looked like cooking in Beijing,

Mike Reilly, Instagram (mikeyreilly5)

to climbing the Great Wall of China,

Connor Reilly, Instagram (creilly2121)

it looks as if the three brothers had a great experience together traveling to new places and experiencing new things.

FREE AGENCY
Mikey was drafted 98th overall, in the fourth round, of the 2011 NHL Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mikey officially became an unrestricted free agent on June 16th after he declined to sign with Columbus. With that being said, Reilly could sign a two-year, two-way deal with any of the 30 NHL Clubs. Since all of the deals that were being offered were essentially the same, it all came down to where Reilly felt most comfortable. After deep consideration, he thought the Minnesota Wild would be the best fit for him.

MAROON AND GOLD CAREER
In his three years with the Gophers, Mikey was able to make a big impact. He was a two-time All-American player, a Hobey Baker Finalist, and a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Gopher Hockey, Twitter (@GopherHockey)

In his final season as a Gopher, he led not only the Gophers in points and assists, but also the nation's defensemen (6-36--42). He also led the Big Ten Conference in assists (3-24--27). In Mikey's 117 career games, he had 18 goals, 71 assists, and 89 scoring points total.

MINNESOTA IS HOME
In the years that Mikey has been playing hockey, he has only played one season outside of Minnesota. In 2011-2012, he and his two brothers played for the Penticton Vees in the BCHL. Other than that, Reilly played high school hockey for the Academy of Holy Angels (2008-2010) and Shattuck St. Mary's (2010-2011). When taking that into consideration, it makes sense that Reilly would want to be close to home and to his family. Family seems to be an important determining factor in the Reilly family - in fact, his younger sister, Caitlin, will be playing for the Minnesota Gophers this upcoming season after playing her freshman year for Penn State, because she wanted to be around family and forge her own path with the Gophers. After playing three seasons in his home state, Mikey is fully prepared to return to his hometown team and earn a spot on the Minnesota Wild's roster.

Mikey will definitely be missed playing in the maroon and gold alongside Connor and Ryan.

Mike Reilly, Instagram (mikeyreilly5)

Wishing Mikey all the best as he chases his dream of being in the NHL. I have no doubt that the State of Hockey will welcome him with open arms into the Minnesota Wild community that he has grown up in.