The 20-year-old Charlottetown native attended training camp in September with the Winnipeg Jets and their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
“Camp went well. I thought I played up to my potential,” Kielly said Tuesday. “I decided to come back and get my education.”
Kielly played four seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders after starting his five-year Quebec Major Junior Hockey League career with the Gatineau Olympiques. Kielly, who scored 34 goals and added 40 assists for 74 points in 65 games last season, feels he can make the transition into the Atlantic University Sport game.
“My goal is to help UPEI get to another level,” Kielly said. “I feel I’m ready. I was that close to pro, so getting a taste of it was important to me and it was a big eye-opener, knowing I can play at that level.”
UPEI head coach Forbes MacPherson said he had been recruiting Kielly for a long time.
“He checks all the boxes,” he said. “He’ll have an immediate impact.”
While many people used to refer to forwards as either top-six or bottom-six players, MacPherson said hockey is moving to more of a top nine forwards with an energy line. Within the top nine there are guys who will get power-play time, which MacPherson said he sees Kielly getting.
While his offensive numbers are easy to track, Kielly has also been known as a responsible 200-foot player, who is adept at taking faceoffs and bringing a competitive fire to the teams he plays for.
“I think that’s probably his biggest intangible,” MacPherson said, while noting “he works hard every night.”
MacPherson said all teams are positive and optimistic at this point in the season. And while the team returns a big chunk of last year’s roster, the squad was still eliminated in the first round of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) playoffs.
“We still needed to get better and that’s what Kam does – he makes us better,” MacPherson said.
Kielly knows a number of the Panthers already, having played with guys like Tanner McCabe, Daryl MacCallum, Ryan MacKinnon and Filip Rydstrom while having trained with Brent Andrews and Darcy Ashley. Kielly earned a number of credits towards his business degree during his junior career.
Kielly is dealing with an illness and his status for Friday night’s home opener was not clear on Tuesday.
