Not much was expected of Nick Seeler this season, but he took the opportunity given to him and ran with it.
When the Philadelphia Flyers initially signed Nick Seeler to a one-year contract in the summer of 2021, fans weren't counting on the journeyman defenseman to become a staple in the club's nightly lineup.
Well, due to the likely career-ending injury to Ryan Ellis, along with the Flyers' severe lack of depth on the blue line, Seeler ended up getting a much bigger opportunity than even he probably expected. Now, after taking the entire 2020-21 season off for a "mental and physical break," he's cemented himself as a solid bottom-pairing defender. And with two seasons in the City of Brotherly Love under his belt, the soon-to-be 30-year-old appears to have gained the trust of the Flyers' coaching staff and the approval of the fan base.
Season In Review
Seeler has never been much of a scorer. A quick glance at his career statistics will make that abundantly clear. Prior to the 2022-23 season, he had compiled a grand total of 15 points in 148 games as an NHLer. Seeler has always been, and always will be, a physical, modest, stay-at-home defender.
But this year, while continuing to primarily focus on keeping opponents from scoring rather than generating offense, Seeler put together the best statistical season of his career. That's still not saying much, given that he only logged 14 total points in 77 games, but it's a significant improvement for the veteran defender as he built confidence as a key cog on the Flyers' back end.
Seeler blocked a whopping 161 shots on the season — good for second-most on the Flyers behind only Ivan Provorov — and he even posted some really strong play-driving numbers.
At least relative to his teammates.
Believe it or not, Seeler logged the third-highest 5-on-5 Expected Goals For percentage (51.08) on the team this season while also ranking inside the club's top seven in 5-on-5 Corsi For percentage (47.71) and Goals For percentage (48.24).
Not exactly play-driving numbers that jump off the page, but the Flyers as a whole struggled to generate offense throughout the campaign, and those offensive shortcomings shouldn't fall on the shoulders of a third-pair defender.
"I think he's had a really good year. For me, when I started in June, not many people were talking to me about Nick Seeler. I don't think he was on a lot of people's radar," head coach John Tortorella said of Seeler in April.
"I think he's probably been one of our steadiest defensemen. In his role and what he can do for our team, I think he's been one of our steadiest players this year."
At the end of the season, Seeler was named the Flyers' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually "to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey."
He ultimately wasn't named a finalist for the award, but given the ups and downs he's endured over the course of his career, Seeler certainly deserves a fair amount of praise just for his persistence and staying power.
Standout Moment
There's no question what Seeler's shining moment of the season was. On March 14, in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Seeler scored not only the goal of the Flyers' season, but arguably one of the best goals of the NHL season as a whole.
After having a shot blocked, Seeler recovered the loose puck and cut his way through the Vegas zone like a hot knife through butter. He deked Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb, two very good defensemen, completely out of their skates before roofing the puck past Jonathan Quick to score the Flyers' second goal of the game.
Every player in the NHL has immense skill, even if they don't show it often, and Seeler proved that against Vegas.
Unfortunately, the Flyers lost that game by a score of 5-3, though Seeler's highlight-reel goal did spark a miniature comeback late in the game.
Bottom Line
Despite scoring one of the most beautiful goals of the year, Seeler (typically) isn't a flashy player who can be counted upon to bring fans out of their seats and score a ton of points. That's just not his game. But since joining the Flyers, he's become more than adequate as a third-pair defenseman, and he's established himself as a fan favorite thanks to his courageous style of play and feisty nature. He's earned the praise of Tortorella, who is famously a tough critic, and appears set to continue playing a significant role for the Flyers for the foreseeable future.
Pretty solid for a guy who was out of the NHL two years ago.
Verdict:
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and NHL.com.