Photo Credit: Our very own Michael Reaves
By now we all know what an asset Nick Seeler is, or should know what type of an asset Seeler is to this club. Nick Seeler was signed by Chuck Fletcher, and ironically enough Fletcher actually drafted him back in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft with the Minnesota Wild’s 5th round pick. Seeler has become a mainstay on the backend for the orange and black, and he is a blocking machine for the Flyers.
John Tortorella spoke emphatically about Seeler at Training Camp, “He’s a good player for us. Energy wise, penalty killing. Just the emotion on the bench. He’s a really good player for us.”
Seeler originally inked a one-year two-way contract worth up to $750,000 back on July 28th, 2021. He may not be the the flashiest, big-name type of signing that catches most people’s attention, but Seeler gets the job done, “The willingness, the one thing to block the shot. There is some technique to it, move your head out of the way or face, you hope it hits the shin pad, but a lot of times it hits something that hurts a little bit more (Laughing),” Nick Seeler says of blocking shots in an interview with Jamey Baskow at the outdoor game practice. “That’s the way we have to play, that’s a big thing of Torts’s message, whether it’s a Forward or a D.”
“He’s a good player,” Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella said of Seeler. “I think a lot of people forget he plays against a lot of good people on opposing teams. He’s a good partner cause he bails a lot of people out.”
He continues to do the small things, that ordinarily players shy away from, to include blocking shots, fighting, sticking up for a teammate. Seeler quietly had a two assist game against the Utah Hockey Club, and many people would not have known it.
Seeler received a stamp of approval from John Tortorella following the game against Columbus, for throwing down the mitts with Mathieu Olivier. Seeler got dumped, but nonetheless it seemed to fire up the team, en route to a 5-3 victory.
“I thought the best play of the game was 10 or 12 guys going over to tap Seels Nick Seeler) at the penalty box after he fought Olivier,” Tortorella said following the game. “That stuff is just so important for our team, I thought that was the best play of the game.”
It’s the little things, the little things better noticed by this hockey club.
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