Throughout the Flyer's history, there have been some great pairings on defense. Chris Therien and Eric Desjardins were a steady, steady combo throughout the 90s. Mark Howe and Brad McCrimmon patroled the blue line together in the1980s. Joe and Jimmy Watson were essential parts of the Bully Era Flyers. Even more recently, Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timmonen formed a formidible pair for the Flyers.
However, one great pair is never enough. Try as he might, Pronger's heroics in the Stanley Cup run of 2010, where he played almost 30 minutes a game, is proof of that. You need at least five other defenders. And every now and then, you find a guy who helms the second or third pairing who becomes an integral part of the team. In the 90s you had Petr Svoboda. In the early 2000s, the Flyers spent a lot of money on Luke Richardson, which was money well spent, but he really thrived when paired up with Dan McGillis.
And so we come to Nick Seeler. He is the definition of a "late bloomer" in the NHL. He was a fifth round pick by Minnesota in 2011; the same year the Flyers selected Scott Laughton in the first round and Shayne Gostisbehere in the third round. He didn't make his NHL debut until he was 24 six years later. After that, he started one season, got hurt, and spent time shuttling back and forth between the AHL for both Minnesota and Chicago.
The Rise of Seeler
In 2021, the Flyers picked him off the waiver wire after a dearth of injuries lead the desperate Flyers front office to take a chance on him. He did not disappoint. He scored three points while playing just 13 minutes a game. His play was good enough to warrant a re-signing.
Since then, Seeler has done nothing but reward the Flyers for their trust in him. He is not an offense force, although he set a career high with three goals and 17 assists for 20 points last season. Every year, he has averaged a minute more office time. The last two seasons, he has blocked no fewer than 200 shots and has doled out at least 125 hits. At the same time, he doesn't put the in a bad condition by committing dumb penalties (he had just 36 penalty minutes last season).
For a guy who just turned 32 in June, his career is starting to take off. He is signed on to be with the team for two more seasons after this upcoming one on a team friendly $2.7 million contract. For that price, the Flyers have gotten a lot of consistent play. Think about it this way? When you think about some of the Flyers defenders over the last few seasons, who have you been more happy about as a Flyer: Rasmus Ristolainen, Ivan Provorov, or Seeler? Seeler isn't overpaid and has never played like he didn't care.
Despite the youth movement that is coming up, his job is secure. In fact, after Travis Sanheim and Cam York, he is probably the most secure on in the defensive corps. That tells you a lot about his play and the commitment the Flyers have made to him.
He's not flashy or amazing in any one particular area. However, his work ethic and commitment to play as hard as he can is one of those virtues that Philly fans across the ages have admired. It's what kept him on the roster when he arrived and it's what keeping him for the near future. Seeler has quietly come a long way during his short time in Philadelphia. There is still reason to believe that his best is still yet to come.
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