Login

12jmoritz · 05-07-2015, 04:22 PM

Nick Leier has always been, and he hopes forever will be, a star player. Even in his youth days, Leier was putting up gaudy point totals. Amassing an astounding 176 points in just 73 games during his two junior years, he committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions. It was the perfect fit for Leier, the native of Philadelphia, to be playing only a couple hours away from his home.

Leier was a standout right away at the college level, scoring 24 points in 25 games as a freshman but his efforts were not quite enough to push the new Division 1 team out of Happy Valley to the playoffs. In his sophomore campaign, he got some new line mates that helped elevate his, and the teams, game. His point total jumped from a better than respectable 24 to a great 38 in 27 games. The Lions that year were bounced from the playoffs by the Providence Friars. His junior year is what proved him to be a star at the NCAA level. The team won the National Championship that year, and in no small part did Leier's 74 points play.

The next day, Leier's phone was ringing off the hook with SMJHL teams offering him spots on their rosters. Asking him to forego his senior year took a lot of coercing from the assorted general managers but eventually they got to the 20 year old. Every kid's dream is to be a star in the SHL and now Leier was going to get the opportunity to make it a reality. The multi-million dollar deal he received certainly did not hurt.

Now, Leier is signed on to the St. Louis Scarecrows in the SMJHL, one of two free agent signings that the team made recently. The Scarecrows have not been exactly world burners this year, sitting last in the Eastern Conference. When asked what persuaded him to spurn the other teams that offered him deals, he responded, "Well, I really don't know. It was just kind of a gut feeling. They offered me a good amount of playing time and ample chances to succeed as they make their playoff push. I know that the general managers there are well respected and will do everything and anything to make sure that I have the best chance possible to get drafted to the SHL. They were actually the first team to reach out to me that day and their pitch really became hard to beat as my personal deadline loomed."

Leier will bring with him an elite scoring touch and skating ability. He's able to find the open seams in the ice and make the other team pay for allowing him to get to the soft spots of the ice. He also sports some pretty good hands and vision, finding open players with no look saucer passes routinely. Nick is certainly not a one dimensional player either. His private coach has always stressed to him the importance of playing a solid two-way game. In his words, "What is the point of getting one or two points a night if you are on the ice when the other team scores three goals?" Nick uses his speed to get back on the back check, at times seeming like he is a third defenseman.

The only real knock on his game is his physicality. He's a big body but tends to shy away from the rough stuff in the corners and in front of the net. It's not that he cannot do it because he is a very strong individual. He just does not do it with consistency. He's also never going to be the one to lay a crushing open ice hit. That's just not his game.

Nick knows that he's not going to come in right away and post the same numbers that he did in his amateur days. "I'm playing against men now. Men who all know how to play the game the right way and have posted similar numbers to mine. Everyone is bigger, stronger, and faster than anyone that I have ever played against. It's the big leagues now. I know I'm ready though." St. Louis thinks that he is ready as well. I know I'll be tuned in to his first game to find out.

706 words