Defenseman Patrick Holway, a sixth-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2015, will be transferring to Merrimack; Mark Divver of The Providence Journal was the first report the news.

Under NCAA transfer rules, Holway isn’t eligible to play for the Warriors until January of next season, however, he is in the midst of an appeal to the NCAA in an effort to clear his eligibility for the beginning of next season, according to Divver. If the appeal is successful, Holway will have two full seasons with Merrimack. If the appeal is unsuccessful, he will have 1-1/2 seasons of eligibility with the Warriors.

Holway, 22, played two seasons at Maine, where he was one of the Black Bears top defensemen. Last season as a sophomore, the 6-foot-4 Cohasset native had 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists) in 33 games. In 66 total games with the Maine program, Holway had 10 goals and 22 assists.

Holway announced in October that he was leaving the Maine program for personal reasons, and a need to move closer to home.

“I need to get back closer to home. It’s a personal matter and that’s all I can say about it,” said Holway at the time. “We’ll see how things work out. It wasn’t an easy decision.”

Holway played in all situations for the Black Bears and quarterbacked one of the team’s power-play units.