Just call Woodbury native Brennan Menell a late bloomer.

After failing to make the varsity team during his sophomore year at St. Thomas Academy, and failing to snag a scholarship offer from any collegiate program, the 20-year-old Menell is well on his way to getting the last laugh.

As a relative no-name that even diehard Wild fans couldn’t pick out of a two-man lineup, Menell has spent the last week at training camp trying to earn a professional contract.

Menell proved useful enough to make it through the first round of cuts earlier this week and he was in the lineup on Saturday for a game against the Colorado Avalanche.

“You know, growing here and watching these guys, it’s kind of a dream come true to be able to be out here,” Menell said after the Wild earned a 2-1 win over the Avalanche. “It’s unexplainable.”

Menell logged 15 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time in the game and tallied an assists on the power play in his unofficial NHL debut.

That served as a culmination of what’s been a crazy last couple months for Menell. He was invited to the Wild’s development camp back in July and turned enough heads to parlay that into a roster spot for the Traverse City Prospect Tournament earlier this month. Related Articles Dane Mizutani: Wild GM Bill Guerin finally doing what needs to be done

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“Obviously he comes highly touted,” Iowa Wild coach Derek Lalonde said a couple months ago at the Wild’s development camp. “We don’t have the volume of picks … so now our organization is like, ‘Let’s go find the next Jared Spurgeon. Let’s get these camp invitees in.'”

Lalonde was impressed by Menell in the short amount of time he got to see him in action back in July and was undoubtedly even more impressed after the Traverse City Prospect Tournament.

“He got thrown into the lineup in Traverse City and that’s when we thought, ‘Geez. Our scouts must be doing their job,'” assistant coach John Anderson said. “He played very well in Traverse City, he’s playing very well in training camp, and (general manager) Chuck (Fletcher thought it was a good idea to give him a shot.”

“I’m glad we did,” Anderson continued before pausing. “The only problem is everybody else knows about him now.”

Not bad for a kid that was told he wasn’t good enough to play varsity as an underclassmen.

“I always took it as I’ve got to work harder,” Menell said. “I know I wanted to be here so I know I had to get bigger and stronger and outwork everyone.”

Menell opted to leave St. Thomas Academy after not making the varsity team and took his talents to the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL).

“I knew there was a lot of good players playing in that league,” Menell said, “I took the opportunity when I had it.”

That eventually led Menell to the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he’s spent the last three seasons, most recently tallying 71 points (12 goals, 59 assists) in 70 games for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Menell admitted that the last couple months have been a lot for him to handle. He’s also enjoying every second of it.

“I’m just taking it day by day and trying to be a sponge out here and learn everything I can,” Menell said. “I came in with the mentality that there’s nothing to lose. I felt like I did really well in Traverse City and showed up every day and kept trying to get better. It’s been a real honor to make it this far.”

And he might not be done yet. If things go according to plan, Menell will leave training camp with a professional contract.

“Just looking back four or five years ago if someone told me I’d be in this place I wouldn’t have believed them,” Menell said. “I’ve got a lot of friends in college right now and everyone has their own path. I took a different path than most. I’m really happy it led me here.”