Niklas Wellen

Niklas Wellen (born 14 December 1994) is a German former field hockey player who played as a forward for Bundesliga club Crefelder HTC till May 2026. He played a total of 213 matches for the German national team from 2013 to 2024 in which he scored 114 goals.

Club career Wellen played for the first team of Crefelder HTC since he was 16 years old. In February 2020 he signed a two-year contract at Pinoké in the Netherlands from the 2020–21 season onwards. At the end of the outdoor season he returned to Crefelder HTC , where he ended his active professional career in May 2026.

International career He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he won the bronze medal. On 28 May 2021, he was named in the squads for the 2021 EuroHockey Championship and the 2020 Summer Olympics. He scored four goals in the EuroHockey tournament as they won the silver medal after they lost the final to the Netherlands after a shoot-out.

He was the Player of the Final Match, Best Forward Player, and the Player of the Tournament in the FIH Men's World Cup 2023 held in India. After the 2024 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the silver medal, he announced his retirement from the national team.

Personal life Wellen's wife Kim is the sister of NHL player Leon Draisaitl. The couple have one son born in 2023.