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Casey Wellman's University of Massachusetts hockey career is over, while James Marcou has not made a decision about his future.

Wellman, who just completed his sophomore season, was scheduled to fly to Minnesota today to sign a contract with the Wild. He could be uniform tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.

"I'm excited. I'm pretty nervous actually," Wellman said. "Everything happened really fast. There's a possibility that I could be playing (tonight). It's going to be pretty unbelievable. It's something I've dreamed about since I was 3½."

Wellman was tied for sixth in the nation with 23 goals to go along with 22 assists this season with UMass.

The native of Brentwood, Calif., was undrafted out of high school, meaning any team could offer him a contract to leave school.

Wellman said shortly after the Minutemen were eliminated from the Hockey East Tournament by Boston College Saturday night, his phone began ringing with offers.

"It was pretty overwhelming," Wellman said.

His representative George Bazos, who officially became his agent when Wellman decided to sign, said he was the most sought after college free agent available. He signed a prorated contract for the rookie maximum of $900,000.

"He was, in most teams' eyes, the top guy out there," said Bazos, who believes the Wild present the best situation for Wellman among the over 20 teams that expressed interest.

"It was a very good opportunity there," Bazos added. "He's going to get a chance to step right in and play in the NHL immediately which will give him a good feel for what he needs to do over the summer to try to win a spot permanently there next year."

Wellman will join the Wild, who are currently not in a position to make the playoffs, for the rest of the regular season.

"They're having me come in to get some experience," Wellman said. "Next year we'll see what happens. I'm sure I'll be spending some time in the minors for a chance to grow. But it will be nice to have a taste of what it's like so I can keep fighting for it."

"It wasn't an easy decision" to leave UMass, Wellman said. "I've been struggling with it for a while now.

"You never know what the right decision is," he added. "But I made a decision and I have to put everything I have towards it. I'm sure everything is going to work out."

Wellman praised the UMass coaching staff for helping him reach the NHL.

"UMass did a great job. The coaches were phenomenal. They really helped with my development," he said. "I had a lot of weaknesses and they really helped me work on those. I can't say enough about Coach (Don) Cahoon, Coach (Red) Gendron and Coach (Len) Quesnelle. They helped out a lot."

Wellman is the third player during Cahoon's tenure to depart UMass early, following Greg Mauldin and Jon Quick.

Marcou, a junior who led the Minutemen this season with 51 points (11 goals, 40 assists), said he is uncertain about his plans.

"I'm not sure yet," Marcou said. "I've heard from a couple of teams, but I haven't made my final decision yet. I want to put myself in position to have the best opportunity.

"It's a tough decision," he added. "UMass has been great. It's a happy place for me with my brother (Michael) there and stuff. It's something special playing with your brother."

Marcou needs only 12 credits to graduate.

Cahoon commented about the future of both players earlier Monday before Wellman's decision was announced. Cahoon wished them well and conceded that they would be hard to replace.

"I want them both to do well," Cahoon said. "Ultimately it only helps our program if they have success. I'm in the business of helping them develop and go on and realize their dreams.

"At the same time, it creates a challenge to our staff to assemble a team that can compete for the prizes that we want to compete for."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.