The Alaska Aces have lost their captain with Nick Mazzolini's decision to head to Lowen Frankfurt in the rebranded DEL2, the second level of pro hockey in Germany -- that's according to eliteprospects.com and the Lowen Frankfurt hockey club.
Mazzolini, 30, last season led the Aces to the third Cup in franchise history. He racked 25-47--72 totals in 69 regular-season games and 11-20--31 league-leading totals in 21 playoff games.
According to Lowen Frankfurt's website, Mazzolini arrived in Germany on Sunday.
This is Mazzolini's second time abroad to play pucks -- he spent his second of his five pro seasons in Italy; his other four pro seasons were all with the Aces.
Besides needing a new captain, the Aces also are in the market for centers. The three centers they used in the playoffs -- Mazzolini, Jordan Morrison and Tyler Mosienko -- will all play elsewhere in the upcoming season. Morrison has apparently all but retired -- he's headed to the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League. Mosienko is set to play in England for Sheffield Steelers.
In other ECHL news, former Aces defenseman Patrick Wellar, who helped the franchise to its first Cup in 2006, has signed with the Utah Grizzlies as a player-assistant coach. Wellar, 30, comes loaded with rings. He also won Kelly Cups with South Carolina in 2009 (the Stingrays beat the Aces in seven games) and Reading in 2013. Plus, the won an AHL Calder Cup with Hershey is 2010.